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Harrop: U.S. must address its own fentanyl problem
By Froma Harrop
Published: February 17, 2025, 6:01am
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Fentanyl presents us with a terrible dilemma. More than 74,000 Americans died in 2023 after taking fentanyl or other drugs with it mixed in. There is no proven blueprint for stopping the scourge. We’ve spent more than a half-century trying to address the problem. The war on drugs that Richard Nixon declared in 1971 has produced nothing but billions in wasted spending.
There’s only one realistic way to at least slow down the crisis: Persuade Americans to not take illicit drugs and help those addicted get off them. Good luck with that.
As drugs go, fentanyl is unique. It is easy to transport because it’s trafficked in such small quantities. It’s not like marijuana, which takes up space. Fentanyl is profitable in tiny amounts. A chunk of it the size of a pencil tip can be fatal.
Fentanyl is made from a combination of chemicals. China is the main supplier of those used to make it, with India a rising source. Labs in Mexico put the chemicals together into the finished product.
Fentanyl enters the country hidden in candy wrappers, toys, cellphones, coat linings. And it is usually transported by American nationals entering the country legally. Gangs hire them to bring it over. Or the traffickers are running their own business.
The size of the epidemic reminds us that even the deadliest ingredients won’t stop Americans from taking drugs. And because fentanyl is mixed into so many other drugs, many users don’t even know they’re taking it.
As a weapon in Donald Trump’s tariff threats, fentanyl is a largely phony rap tossed against our biggest trading partners. It’s true that most of the fentanyl entering the U.S. comes from Mexico. But as noted, its small shipment size makes interdicting most of it close to impossible. In addition to being carried by Americans returning to the U.S., the drug is often hidden in truck tires or legitimate commercial goods.
In the case of Canada, threats over fentanyl are nothing less than diplomatic abuse. Less than 1 percent of fentanyl seized entering this country came over the northern border. In the first 10 months of 2024, Canada seized almost 11 pounds of fentanyl coming from the U.S.
And a lot of it comes from neither country, entering American ports on ships. As a final complication, fentanyl was legally used by doctors as a pain reliever in the 1960s.
If fentanyl is the big issue in trade wars, why would Trump put a 25 percent tariff on Canada, responsible for almost none of it — but only 10 percent on China, which provides most of the ingredients?
China responds that its drug laws are the toughest in the world. “The U.S. needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue,” it said.
Canada and Mexico could put 100,000 more border inspectors on the job, and you still won’t stop fentanyl from entering. Are border guards going to take every laptop apart?
China is right. Only the U.S. can address its fentanyl problem. Our government could build a large network of drug rehab centers. That requires public dollars, and it appears that the current leadership is determined to cut health care spending, not add to it.
Meanwhile, it is much easier to export blame.
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