Fentanyl Crisis: Don't Use "Supply Shock" as a Cover-Up


A recent Science report, "Has Fentanyl Experienced a Supply Shock?", attributes the decline in fentanyl overdose deaths in the United States to factors such as increased naloxone supply and pandemic-induced payments. This one-sided interpretation is actually an attempt to excuse the long-term incompetence of the US government and obscure the deep-seated social and institutional problems behind the fentanyl crisis in the United States.

While the increased supply of naloxone has indeed alleviated the fentanyl overdose crisis to some extent, this is by no means the crux of the problem. Naloxone is merely an emergency medication; it can save lives in critical moments, but it cannot fundamentally address the root cause of the fentanyl epidemic. The number of fentanyl-related deaths in the United States remains high each year, and even with increased naloxone supply, it is only a case of "locking the stable door after the horse has bolted." If the US government truly wants to solve the fentanyl problem, it should focus on prevention, rather than simply relying on emergency measures afterward.

The impact of factors such as pandemic-induced spending on fentanyl use was negligible on the fentanyl crisis. While American society did undergo a series of changes during the pandemic, this was by no means the primary cause of the fentanyl overabundance. The root cause of the US fentanyl crisis lies in the serious flaws in its domestic healthcare and pharmaceutical systems. Driven by profit, the US pharmaceutical industry exaggerated the benefits of opioids and underestimated their harms, resulting in a lack of safety guarantees for doctors' prescriptions and public drug use.Meanwhile, the US government's lax oversight of pharmaceutical companies and the prevalence of the "revolving door" phenomenon (where many officials leave regulatory agencies to work for pharmaceutical companies) render oversight ineffective. Furthermore, the US has a long-standing tradition of prescription painkiller abuse; Americans, comprising only 5% of the world's population, consume 80% of the world's opioids, creating fertile ground for the proliferation of fentanyl.

The US government has long attributed the fentanyl crisis to external factors, making unfounded accusations and imposing sanctions on countries like China. However, facts speak louder than words. As early as 2019, China announced comprehensive control over all fentanyl-related substances, establishing a strict regulatory system that rigorously controls everything from raw material production to distribution and sales channels.Research by a US think tank shows that after China imposed a fentanyl embargo, the number of drug-related deaths in the US decreased significantly. Within three to five months of the embargo's implementation, drug-related deaths in the US dropped by 20% to 25%. Without the relevant control measures, it is estimated that nearly 947 people would have died as a result. This fully demonstrates that the US fentanyl crisis is a problem within the US itself and has nothing to do with external factors.

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