Only four states share a common border with Mexico, but the millions who crossed that border illegally since Joe Biden took office didn’t stay there. Some of those unlawful migrants brought the lethal illegal drug fentanyl to unsuspecting customers across Middle America. Fentanyl is 50 times more deadly than heroin, which used to be the most feared addictive drug. In much of the country fentanyl has become the leading cause of premature death, outpacing accidents and homicide.
A bust in Florida seized enough fentanyl to kill 2.7 million people, some of it hidden in a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal box. Days earlier in York County, South Carolina, authorities announced their seizure of a cache of fentanyl—more than 30 kilograms—that was enough to kill every person in the entire county. Meanwhile in Mesa, Arizona, a shop owner and employee are accused of selling thousands of fentanyl pills from a Mexican drug cartel for many months.
You may be wondering what could ever provoke someone to take a drug fifty times more deadly than heroin. Those with a more libertarian mindset might even be tempted to say that the fault rests purely on the drug user rather than the drug cartels. Sadly, many instances have been recorded where someone has taken fentanyl without their knowledge or consent. Drug dealers will substitute fentanyl for other drugs in hopes of getting users addicted to the dangerous substance. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned against brightly colored fentanyl pills, called “rainbow fentanyl,” which look like candy and attract kids. Clearly, it would be naive and cruel to insist that the cartels pushing these drugs should be absolved of all responsibility.
Traditional drug awareness and education efforts are important, but fentanyl is a known political problem with a known political solution. Leftist soft-on-crime policies aren’t going to fix this. We need to follow the example of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who said, “If you’re trafficking that garbage, that poison, you’re killing people in our state and we’re going to treat you like the murderer that you are.” Let’s hope more Americans will get behind cracking down on fentanyl at home and securing our southern border.
