(RepublicanDaily.org) – Deaths from synthetic opioids continue to be on the rise, and continue to be a serious concern for authorities and law enforcement agents.
In an opinion piece for USA Today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that there IS a crisis, but admitted that concrete and long-lasting solutions are hard to come by because of the complexity of the problem, especially given that lasting solutions would require cooperation with foreign governments.
Blinken said that last year saw close to 110,000 Americans lose their lives due to an overdose of synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. The drug is roughly 50 times stronger than heroin and the 100 times more powerful than morphine, and a small amount is sufficient to cause an overdose and death.
But he also said that the issue is a global one, as many other countries are suffering similar problems, such as the influx of ketamine and methamphetamine in Asia, Africa’s struggle with illegal tramadol usage, and the Middle East’s dilemma with fake Captagon Pills.
As such, the fentanyl crisis requires and “urgent foreign policy challenge”, Blinken wrote, that needs “U.S. leadership to rally a global response.” He added, that “the synthetic drug crisis is a global problem” and no one country can solve the problem by itself.
The U.S. secretary of state also touted his establishment of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, which is made up of 95 member countries, as well as a number of regional and international organizations that are committed to fighting the crisis brought about by illegal synthetic drugs.
Some states, however, like Oklahoma, are trying to address the crisis itself. Oklahoma has launched an initiative where a number of vending machines have been placed in strategic locations that have Narcan and drug testing strips. People can get tested for free by inputting their zip code and getting the tests dispensed by the machine. Oregon, on the other hand, is trying an experiment where people who are caught with small volumes of illegal substances for “personal use” only receive a minimal fine which can be waived with participation in a drug screening and health assessment.
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