2023
US authorities are sounding the alarm over the rapid spread of fentanyl. $1.55 billion will be allocated to fight it
Synthetic opioids are the source of the deadliest drug epidemic in US history.
US President Biden requested additional funding from Congress in the amount of $1.55 billion to combat the spread of a dangerous drug substance - fentanyl. The White House published the corresponding document at the end of October 2023.
It follows that these funds will be directed to grants for the treatment of addicts, harm reduction programs and rehabilitation support, covering the entire United States. A press release on the White House website also indicates that since 2018, with the help of grants, 1.2 million Americans have been helped with treatment, and states have bought nine million opioid overdose first aid kits with allocated funds.
The epidemic of deaths from drug overdoses in the United States began in the early 2010s. The death toll in 2021 alone exceeded 100,000 people, 75% of such cases were synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid said to be 50 times more powerful than heroin. It can be synthesized from substances available in a free pharmacy sale.
According to the American government, from 2020 to 2022. the number of fentanyl overdoses in the United States has grown more than twice - from 35 thousand to 80 thousand people, which is the most common cause of death in the United States. Young people between the ages of 18 and 45 die more than in road accidents, gun killings and suicides.
In March 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement warning of the "deadliest threat" - a combination of fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative often used in veterinary medicine. The use of a "zombie drug" (so named because of non-healing ulcers on the body), as stated by the DEA, is growing at a reactive pace. Cases have been reported in 48 out of 50 US states.[1]
In the US, a court allowed drug addicts to own weapons
On August 9, 2023, the US Federal Court of Appeals lifted the ban on the possession of firearms for citizens who illegally use narcotic substances. The norms providing for the corresponding restriction were declared unconstitutional.
The decision was made in the case of Patrick Daniels, convicted after law enforcement found a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle in his car along with cigarette butts with marijuana. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not conduct a test for illegal drugs, though Daniels acknowledged that he sometimes smoked marijuana, which federal law prohibits. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
However, the Supreme Court in June 2022 ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects the right of a person to carry a gun in public places for self-defense. As a result, a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans concluded that the federal law in question violated the right of American citizens to "keep and bear arms."
 | Our history and traditions may support some restrictions on a drunken person's right to bear arms, but this does not justify disarming a sober citizen solely on the basis that he has used drugs in the past, "said Judge Jerry Smith. |  |
In August 2022, it was reported that in the first seven months of this year, more than 400 cases of mass shooting occurred in the United States. At least four people were killed or injured in each of the incidents. At the same time, President Joe Biden said that the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, guaranteeing the right to purchase and carry firearms, "is not absolute."[2]
2022
107,477 drug overdose deaths. Most from fentanyl use
In 2021, the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. was 106,699, with an estimated 107,477 in 2022. Most deaths are caused by fentanyl (which is used on its own or mixed into counterfeit prescription pills), heroin, and increasingly methamphetamine and cocaine.
Fentanyl supply scheme to US from China via Mexico
The production of precursors and fentanyl is not illegal. This is a relatively small segment in the production program of Chinese pharmaceutical giants. Companies produce fentanyl and precursors. Next are deliveries to pharmaceutical enterprises, without any violations of local legislation. And only subsequently do small Chinese intermediaries come into play. Instead of supplying finished fentanyl directly to the United States, most of the goods go through Mexico, where they are processed into drugs and transported with the United States.
The calculation for a drug on the streets occurs in cash and the problem arises of withdrawing this cash from the United States. It is very risky to carry cash, and it is impossible to use the US banking system.
To overcome these restrictions, an extensive network of official enterprises owned by Chinese entrepreneurs was created. It conducts completely legal business in the United States and regularly makes payments to China in yuan without using US banks.
The courier collects cash from a local network of sellers, say, in Chicago. It is quite possible to disguise amounts from $100,000 to $1 million in the flow of regular payments. The courier takes the cash to a company owned by a Chinese entrepreneur. The owner issues a receipt stating that he has accepted the cash and immediately makes a transfer for the appropriate amount in yuan to the Chinese intermediary. For the transfer, a Chinese banking application is used that excludes contacts with the US financial system.
But you still need to return some of the money to the cartel. Taking cash from the United States to Mexico is also very risky and fraught with many completely unpredictable situations. The problem is solved simply. On yuan received from a Chinese entrepreneur from the United States, a running product, such as inexpensive clothes or shoes, is supplied to Mexico from China. The goods are quickly sold in local markets. Thus, the cartel receives cash in local currency already in Mexico, without touching the US financial system. The transaction is complete.
This is just one of the schemes that was uncovered by US intelligence agencies, studied in detail, and led to the detention of several members of the network. There are much more complex schemes integrated into the fishing industry of Latin American countries, trade in natural resources and others.
US President allocates $1.5 billion to fight opioid crisis
On September 23, 2022, President Joe Biden's administration allocated about $1.5 billion to combat the worsening nationwide opioid crisis.
As Rahul Gupta, director of national drug control policy at the White House, pointed out, the Biden and Harris Administrations are announcing a number of key financial investments and actions designed to reduce overdose deaths, provide health care providers and law enforcement with the resources needed to help recovering people, and finally defeat this epidemic.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide about $1.5 billion in grants to states, tribal lands and territories, said Miriam Delphine-Rittmon, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.
The funds will go toward treating substance use disorders and removing barriers to getting drugs like naloxone, a drug that can stop opioid overdoses, she said.
In addition, the grants will fund recovery support services, overdose education, mutual care specialists in emergency departments, and assistance for disorders related to the use and abuse of stimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine, she added.[3]
The drug is sold for cash and the problem arises of withdrawing this cash from the United States. It is very risky to carry cash, and it is impossible to use the US banking system.
To overcome these restrictions, an extensive network of official enterprises owned by Chinese entrepreneurs was created. It conducts completely legal business in the United States and regularly makes payments to China in yuan without using US banks.
The courier collects cash from a local network of sellers, say, in Chicago. It is quite possible to disguise amounts from $100,000 to $1 million in the flow of regular payments. The courier takes the cash to a company owned by a Chinese entrepreneur. The owner issues a receipt stating that he has accepted the cash and immediately makes a transfer for the appropriate amount in yuan to the Chinese intermediary. For the transfer, a Chinese banking application is used that excludes contacts with the US financial system.
2021
Increase in drug overdose deaths by 15% to 108 thousand people per year
Drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021 increased by almost 15%, exceeding 100,000 people and setting another gloomy record. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we are talking about 108 thousand deaths.
| | In just 12 months, our country has experienced 108 thousand overdose deaths. That's one life lost every five minutes around the clock, "said Rahul Gupta, director of national drug control policy at the White House. | |
In Oregon, citizens allowed possession of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine
In the US state of Oregon, citizens were allowed to possess hard drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. The corresponding law entered into force on February 1, 2021.
Since February 1, in Oregon, the presence of a small amount of narcotic drugs, including heroin (up to 1 g), methamphetamine (up to 2 g), cocaine (up to 2 g) and a number of other substances, ceases to be considered a reason for police detention, subsequent detention and criminal proceedings. Instead, a person can be issued a maximum fine and asked to undergo a medical examination and subsequent consultation with a doctor for the development of addiction. As noted by CNN, now the punishment for possession of heavy drugs is comparable to a fine for traffic violations.
| | Today, the first domino in our brutal and inhumane war on drugs has fallen, marking the beginning of a series of other efforts that put health above criminalization, said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. | |
An initiative to abolish Oregon's criminal liability for possession of small doses of heavy drugs was put to a vote as part of the general election. She was supported by 55.8% of the state's voters. According to local authorities, with the entry into force of this law in the state, the number of convictions for possession of heavy drugs will decrease by more than 90%.
Oregon is not alone in taking the next steps toward decriminalizing drugs. So, in 2020, residents of five more states - Arizona, Montana, Mississippi, New Jersey and South Dakota - legalized the use of marijuana. In Oregon itself, marijuana possession was allowed back in 1973.
Shortly before the US presidential election, Democratic candidate Joe Biden did not rule out the widespread legalization of marijuana in the country if elected.[4]
2020: New record of overdose deaths - 70 thousand people and 1 million in 20 years
In 2020, the number of overdose deaths became a record 70 thousand people, and 4-6% of those who used painkillers with opioids begin to use heroin. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, 144 people die as a result of overdose, 63% of the number of deaths are in prescription drugs of the opioid group, heroin and fentanyl.
More than 1 million Americans died from drug overdoses from 1999 to 2020, with the death rate rising significantly since 2012, when synthetic opioids, which are supplied by small intermediary companies from China, began to meet American demand for banned opioids.
2019
Continued rise in overdose cases due to heroin availability
Since 2019, the growing number of overdoses has been associated with the growing popularity of cheap synthetic drugs and the availability of heroin.
Cocaine traffic route
Main article: Cocaine
Map of marijuana legalization in U.S. states
Main article: Legalization of marijuana
2018: 68K die from overdose
Drug overdose USA deaths in drop for first time in 20 years
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 68,557 people died of overdoses in the United States in 2018. The 5.6% decrease from 2017 (72,224 people) is the first decrease in overdose deaths since 1999.
47,000 of those deaths were related to opioid use.
However, despite the decline in overall deaths, deaths from overdoses with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have increased. Fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and it holds an increasing share of the illegal drug market.
Even though heroin, prescription opioids and synthetic opioids like fentanyl are the focus, deaths from other drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine are increasing.
In Russia, about 8 thousand people die from drug overdoses every year.
2017:23 million addicts in the US
According to 2017 data, 23 million Americans suffer from drug addiction, and only one in ten receives qualified treatment.
2016
Number of deaths from opioid use disorders
Illegal drugs market $150 billion a year
Forecast: The volume of the legal marijuana market in the United States in 2018 will be $8 billion
As of June 2016, marijuana is banned in the United States at the federal level, but its use for medical purposes has been legalized in almost half of the states. Moreover, states such as Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana use. Experts estimate the volume of the legal marijuana market in the United States at $8 billion by 2018[5].
2015: Overdose deaths record 33,000
Opioid drugs continue to wreak deadly havoc USA in even after 15 years of fighting the epidemic.
In 2015, more people died from overdoses than ever before: 33 thousand people, according to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of deaths from all types of death that occurred after taking drugs is also growing rapidly.
Largely due to the increase in the use of opioid drugs, the death rate from drug overdoses has also increased: there are 16.3 deaths from opioids per 100 thousand people. In 2002, these figures were half as low.
This makes the cause of drug overdose death one of the worst compared to other major causes of death in the US.
Some states suffer far more than others. In West Virginia and New Hampshire, for example, the overdose death rate is twice as high as in the United States as a whole[6].
The new data takes into account cases of heroin and synthetic drugs, as the authorities have tightened access to prescription painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, which are also opioids.
Limited access to painkillers has forced addicts to switch to heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic drug once every 100 more powerful than heroin.
In 2010, deaths from heroin and synthetic drugs accounted for about 8% of deaths. At the end of 2015, about a quarter of all drug addicts died from heroin, 18% from synthetic drugs.
At this time, Afghanistan produces approximately 90% of all heroin in the world, and it is from this Central Asian state that relatively cheap and affordable heroin comes to the US.
According to a CDC report on the topic, the number of heroin-related deaths in the country doubled from 2008 to 2013 (from 3,041 to 8,260 cases). As for deaths due to overdose of prescription opiate drugs, in 2013 16,235 people died because of this, in 2008 - 14,800 people.
If you look at specific regions, the epidemic spread most of all in the northeastern states, in the south and in the Midwest. In Ohio, the increase in deaths due to prescription drug overdoses was 300% from 2007 to 2012, and Kentucky saw a 279% increase over the same period.
1993: Drug companies promote opioid painkillers, leading to opioid crisis
It is believed that the opioid crisis of the 1990s was provoked in the United States by the excessive prescribing of prescription devolumbers with opioid components for both seriously ill and a wider audience of patients. At the same time, the problem received the status of a crisis only in 2017.
Only in 2022 it became known that the defendants in this extensive case, such as Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, Allergan and McKesson, will pay a total of $26 billion to states and municipalities. Johnson & Johnson, as a manufacturer, was accused of underestimating the degree of addiction that drugs cause and will pay $5 billion until 2030, while distributors had to control the volume of drugs prescribed by doctors, but did not do this, their payments will amount to $21 billion until 2039. As part of the agreement, Johnson & Johnson will not be able to produce opioids until 2031, and distributors will have to create a transparent drug distribution system. In the lawsuit in New York, the defendants remain the manufacturer of Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and one of the subsidiaries distributing drugs in Anda pharmacies.
1973
1969
1906: Cocaine as a cold cure
1888: Morphine in cough syrup
Alcohol, hemp, chloroform and morphine.]]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Biden requested $1.55 billion to fight fentanyl in the United States
- ↑ Drug user cannot be barred from owning guns, US court rules
- ↑ Biden To Announce $1.5 Billion To Fight U.S. Opioid Crisis
- ↑ Oregon's law decriminalizing small amounts of heroin and other street drugs officially goes into effect Lauren M Johnson
- ↑ Microsoft becomes the first big tech company to get into the legal weed industry
- ↑ on the verge of defeat in the war on drugs
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