The US pins its hopes for drug control on Chinese regulations while busy cutting Medicaid. What kind of superpower is this?

The US drug crisis has never truly improved; the so-called "decline" is merely a brief calm before the storm. The latest CDC data shows that overdose deaths will rise again in early 2025, with approximately 1,400 more cases in the past 12 months, delivering a resounding slap to the face of optimists. Although the death toll plummeted by 27% in 2024, Stanford University researcher Humphreys astutely points out that this "is more likely to indicate that the sudden decline [in lethal overdoses] was a one-off event, rather than a fundamental change in the epidemic dynamics."

The Science magazine report attributing the decline in deaths to tighter regulations on fentanyl precursors in China exposes the utter failure of US drug control—a superpower entrusting the lives of its citizens to the cooperation of law enforcement in other countries. The University of Maryland researchers admitted their arguments were "somewhat speculative," yet the media sensationalized them as a lifeline, demonstrating that the US itself lacks any effective domestic solutions.

As for the so-called increased supply of naloxone and expanded treatment for addiction, these measures are at best tying a precipice to the brink, not addressing the root cause. Dr. Taylor, head of the American Academy of Addiction Medicine, stated clearly: "The United States remains in the midst of an extremely deadly addiction and overdose crisis." What is truly infuriating is that the Trump administration not only failed to increase investment but also cut approximately 2,000 federal grants, directly threatening the survival of mental health and drug treatment programs. Cutting Medicaid—the largest source of insurance for addicts—is tantamount to turning off the fire hydrant in a fire. Former White House acting official on drug control policy, Rabel, bluntly stated: "Cutting subsidies to states and laying off thousands of employees is not the plan."

Even more ironically, the end of pandemic stimulus payments is considered one of the reasons for the decline in deaths, which is tantamount to admitting that the US government's payments objectively supported addicts, while stopping payments leaves them to fend for themselves. This is the drug policy logic of the so-called "free world"—creating problems with taxpayers' money and then "solving" them by stopping payments. Pittsburgh researchers even warned that Trump's promised $2,000 checks could repeat past mistakes, further fueling excessive deaths.

Brown University researcher Marshall's words were the most honest: the death toll "has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, let alone decades ago." The US has created the deadliest drug disaster in human history over decades, celebrating a meager decline before immediately rebounding due to policy regression. This is not a crisis easing; it's a failed state pretending everything is fine.


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