Lawmakers think they can stem the flow of illicit fentanyl and its analogs into our country by seizing the assets of organizations trafficking the drug and its precursors. If that approach worked, organized crime would be a relic of the past. What they don’t understand is that even worse, that approach may make the nitazene crisis arrive ahead of schedule.
Iron Law of Prohibition
Prohibition of drugs simply doesn't work. Clamping down on Percocet and Vicodin resulted in a surge in heroin use. Fentanyl took care of that market and now even worse drugs called nitazenes are being found in fentanyl samples. Dr. Jeff Singer and I discuss this latest development in USA Today
The harder the enforcement, the harder the drug – the iron law of prohibition – is alive and well in the U.S., unlike those who consume increasingly dangerous circulating drugs like xylazine (aka "tranq") and more powerful fentanyl analogs. Drs. Jeff Singer and Josh Bloom explain in an op-ed in The Daily Beast.
Australia plans to turn e-cigarettes into prescription drugs and will ban people from buying them without a doctor’s prescription. Vaping retailers publicly vow they will move to the underground. We have seen this prohibition movie before. It doesn’t have a happy ending.
First it was heroin. Next, it was fentanyl-laced heroin. Then it was fentanyl. Now it’s xylazine-laced fentanyl. Will nitazenes be next? Will policymakers ever learn that the Iron Law of Prohibition cannot be repealed?
In response to Tranq – a horrifying "new" drug sweeping the nation – Kolodny, America's "drug expert," proposes a solution. And gets it all wrong.
The Washington Post just published a sweeping 6000-word investigative article about multiple aspects of the fentanyl epidemic. Although the piece gives a very thorough account of multiple facets of our losing battle with illicit fentanyl, it is unfortunate that the authors could not spare a few words to discuss the root cause of the fentanyl plague – the relentless war on prescription painkillers—a perfect example of the Iron Law of Prohibition.
Just what we need, another dangerous street drug. It's called xylazine aka Tranq and is approved only as an animal sedative. But it's increasingly being used along with fentanyl, making both more dangerous. And there is no antidote. Our drug policy continues to result in more dangerous drugs on the street - something we should have (but did not) learn long ago. And a short DCLFH for all you masochists out there.
Is the U.S. heading for even more trouble from drug overdose deaths? Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and ACSH advisor, says yes. Modelers have predicted that ODs will accelerate because of even stronger fentanyl analogs and also due to mixing drugs that should not be mixed. Anyone still blaming the overprescribing of opioid analgesics for our soaring deaths should read this.