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Fentanyl

fentanyl-test-strips-Newscom

War on Drugs

A Record Number of Drug-Related Deaths Shows the Drug War Is Remarkably Effective at Killing People

According to new CDC numbers, the death toll rose 15 percent last year after jumping 30 percent in 2020.

Jacob Sullum | 5.13.2022 3:55 PM

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War on Drugs

107,000 Overdose Deaths Are the Latest Casualties of the War on Drugs

An increasing number of overdoses were the result of fentanyl and methamphetamine, each of which have proliferated amid government crackdowns.

Joe Lancaster | 5.13.2022 1:45 PM

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Brickbats

Brickbat: Time Is on His Side

Charles Oliver | 5.9.2022 4:00 AM

Marco-Rubio-3-24-22-Newscom

Drug Policy

Congress Should Not Legalize Marijuana, Marco Rubio Says, Because Black-Market Weed Is 'Laced With Fentanyl'

The Florida senator has a long history of defending prohibition, but it has not improved his arguments.

Jacob Sullum | 4.14.2022 3:05 PM

Tom-Cotton-3-22-22-Newscom

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Tom Cotton's Absurd Question About Contacting a Heroin Dealer's Victims Reveals a Drug Warrior's Demagoguery

The mindlessly punitive senator grilled Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson about her resentencing of a drug offender.

Jacob Sullum | 3.24.2022 4:15 PM

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War on Drugs

Michael K. Williams' Death Sparks Charges Against Drug Dealers

The actor's overdose death was a tragedy, but overzealous prosecution of the dealers who sold him the drugs will only make the problem worse.

Joe Lancaster | 2.3.2022 3:30 PM

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War on Drugs

West Virginia Mulls New Criminal Penalties for Imaginary Threat of Police Fentanyl Exposure

A medical myth that responders can overdose by touching or inhaling synthetic opioids may lead to harsher jail sentences.

Scott Shackford | 1.25.2022 1:00 PM

Joe-Biden-speech-12-14-21

War on Drugs

Biden Doubles Down on a Lethal Anti-Drug Strategy

Prohibition has driven opioid-related deaths to record levels.

Jacob Sullum | 12.22.2021 12:01 AM

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Harm Reduction

Feds Pledge $30 Million To Fund Drug Harm Reduction Programs

Less punitive responses to drug addiction are good, but what about people still stuck in federal prison?

Scott Shackford | 12.9.2021 3:00 PM

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Fentanyl

Is Fentanyl-Tainted Marijuana 'Something Real' or 'Just an Urban Legend'?

The meager evidence cited by Connecticut officials makes their warnings seem overwrought.

Jacob Sullum | 11.22.2021 5:20 PM

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War on Drugs

A Shuttered West Virginia Pharmacy Shows the DEA's Role in Escalating America's Overdose Crisis

A drug that treats opioid addiction may also be abused. That’s not a good reason to restrict access.

Scott Shackford | 11.10.2021 2:50 PM

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Criminal Justice

A Man Overdosed on Drugs. The Dealer Was Convicted of Murder and Faces Life in Prison.

It might represent justice in this case. But the approach is rife for abuse.

Billy Binion | 10.19.2021 4:47 PM

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Police

Why Do the Media Keep Uncritically Repeating Implausible Police Fentanyl Overdose Stories?

Recycling a government press release is not good journalism.

Billy Binion | 8.9.2021 11:30 AM

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Opioids

How Drug Warriors Made the 'Opioid Epidemic' Deadlier

Restricting access to pain medication drove nonmedical users toward black-market substitutes.

Jacob Sullum | 7.28.2021 12:01 AM

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War on Drugs

Drug War, Pandemic Likely Reasons for Spike in U.S. Overdose Deaths

Plus: Missouri and New Hampshire extend school choice, Facebook seeks recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.15.2021 9:30 AM

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Opioids

Charging Bit Players With Drug-Induced Homicide Is Unjust and Potentially Deadly

A new investigation of Pennsylvania prosecutions confirms that the defendants are often friends or low-level dealers.

Jacob Sullum | 6.28.2021 2:10 PM

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Drugs

The Feds Are Spreading Fake Facts About Fentanyl 

While fentanyl is a dangerous drug, it is very difficult to overdose on it through accidental exposure.

Matthew Petti | 11.23.2020 6:00 AM

Fentanyl

Fentanyl

The Feds Who Made America's Fentanyl Freakout Worse

Leaked police documents show how U.S. counterterrorism agencies spread myths and panic about fentanyl.

Matthew Petti | 9.1.2020 3:00 PM

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Drugs

Is the Crackdown on Pain Pills Finally Working?

Probably not.

Jacob Sullum | 4.9.2020 6:00 AM

Larry-Hogan-Newscom

Fentanyl

Why Do Critics of Harsh Drug Penalties Support Them When the Drug Is Fentanyl?

A new Drug Policy Alliance report highlights this puzzling and dangerous inconsistency.

Jacob Sullum | 1.23.2020 3:20 PM

OxyContin-bottles-Newscom

Opioids

Massachusetts Study Confirms That People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them

Illicit fentanyl and heroin accounted for the vast majority of opioid-related deaths, while only 1 percent of cases involved drugs for which people had prescriptions.

Jacob Sullum | 10.23.2019 1:10 PM

democratic-debate-10-15-19-Newscom

Opioids

Democratic Presidential Candidates Promote Dangerous Opioid Myths

The discussion during last night's debate grossly exaggerated the role of prescription pain pills in opioid-related deaths.

Jacob Sullum | 10.16.2019 2:35 PM

Narcan

Opioids

Naloxone Can Prevent Opioid Overdose Deaths. Why Isn't the FDA Allowing Over-the-Counter Sales?

Federal drug prohibition played a big role in creating the opioid crisis. Unfortunately, the government is also slowing the spread of one possible solution to it.

Eric Boehm | 10.2.2019 4:45 PM

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Fentanyl

Pittsburgh's U.S. Attorney Is Lying to Cops and Constituents About the Actual Risks of Fentanyl Exposure

Bad science and panics by those who want to escalate the opioid drug war.

Scott Shackford | 9.11.2019 1:45 PM

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Fentanyl

How Innovative Responses to Prohibition Set Off a Deadly Fentanyl Explosion

A RAND report highlights the importance of new synthesis methods, cheap international shipping, and online distribution aided by privacy-protecting technologies.

Jacob Sullum | 8.29.2019 8:00 AM

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Opioids

The False Premises of the Ruling Against Johnson & Johnson

Blaming opioid makers for the "opioid crisis" may be emotionally satisfying, but the reality is more complicated.

Jacob Sullum | 8.28.2019 12:01 AM

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Fentanyl

Another Way Fentanyl Phobia Can Be Deadly: It Undermines Good Samaritan Laws

Irrational fear of incidental contact with opioids can lead to criminal charges that make overdose bystanders less likely to call 911.

Jacob Sullum | 7.24.2019 11:45 AM

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Fentanyl

If Cops Don't Die From Incidental Fentanyl Exposure, a Drug Treatment Specialist Warns, They 'Could Become Addicted to It Instantly'

Such scaremongering poses a potentially deadly threat.

Jacob Sullum | 7.8.2019 12:10 PM

Fentanyl

Fentanyl

Congress Is Racing To Address a Fentanyl Problem That Fentanyl Experts Say Probably Doesn't Exist

You can’t overdose on fentanyl simply by touching it.

Walter Olson | 6.1.2019 9:00 AM

Trump-opioid-speech-4-24-19-CSPAN

Fentanyl

Trump Praises China for Killing Drug Traffickers

The president thinks executions will help stop the flow of "fentanol" into the United States.

Jacob Sullum | 4.24.2019 6:30 PM

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Hit & Run

The Washington Post Blames Obama for Fentanyl Deaths

The paper suggests that more drug law enforcement is the solution to a problem created by drug law enforcement.

Jacob Sullum | 3.13.2019 12:55 PM

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HomePage

Why Drug Traffickers Laugh at Trump's Border Wall

The profit incentives created by prohibition doom any effort to block the drug "pipeline."

Jacob Sullum | 1.9.2019 12:15 PM

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HomePage

After Boosting the Fentanyl Market, Drug Warriors Vainly Promise to Eradicate It

The government can't stop the flow of illegal drugs, but it can always make them more deadly.

Jacob Sullum | 12.5.2018 2:45 PM

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Hit & Run

China's Xi Fools Another U.S. President With Promises of a Fentanyl Crackdown

And once again, Trump is distracted from real policy by symbolic brutality.

Mike Riggs | 12.5.2018 11:41 AM

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Hit & Run

Huge North Carolina Fentanyl Bust Turns Out To Be 13 Pounds of Sugar

The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office made a mistake.

Zuri Davis | 8.30.2018 10:45 AM

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HomePage

New CDC Numbers Show the Drug War Continues to Make Opioids Deadlier

Deaths involving pain pills and heroin are falling, while deaths involving fentanyl and its analogs continue to rise.

Jacob Sullum | 8.15.2018 12:45 PM

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HomePage

Up Close and Personal With Philadelphia's Heroin Crisis

Journalist Christopher Moraff talks about a better way to report on drug culture in America.

Mike Riggs | 7.31.2018 6:30 AM

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HomePage

Thank Drug Warriors for the Escalating Death Toll From Superpotent Synthetic Opioids

New data show the share of opioid-related fatalities involving fentanyl analogs is rising.

Jacob Sullum | 7.20.2018 12:45 PM

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HomePage

Marketing Fentanyl as Heroin May Soon Carry Harsh New Penalties

Federal prosecutors didn't need more leverage against drug offenders, but they're going to get it anyway.

Mike Riggs | 4.15.2018 2:00 PM

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HomePage

America's War on Pain Pills Is Killing Addicts and Leaving Patients in Agony

The government's efforts to get between people and the drugs they want have not prevented drug use, but they have made it more dangerous.

Jacob Sullum | 3.8.2018 7:00 AM

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HomePage

Duterte Fanboy Donald Trump Wants America to Start Executing Drug Dealers

The president has never encountered a problem he can't imagine solving with violence.

Mike Riggs | 2.26.2018 12:25 PM

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HomePage

Jeff Sessions Used His Emergency Scheduling Powers Last Week. Here's What That Means.

Emergency scheduling won't fix the fentanyl crisis, no matter what Jeff Sessions claims.

Mike Riggs | 11.13.2017 11:55 AM

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Hit & Run

The Justice Department Is Now Going After Chinese Fentanyl Manufacturers

The DOJ has indicted two Chinese nationals for sending fentanyl to the U.S. Now what?

Mike Riggs | 10.17.2017 5:30 PM

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HomePage

The Pros and Cons of a Heroin Shortage

The former head of the CDC wants to drive up the price of heroin. Here's what we might see if that happens.

Mike Riggs | 10.13.2017 4:15 PM

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Hit & Run

New Hampshire's Medical Examiner: Opioid Deaths Have "Completely Overwhelmed Us"

New CDC data finds fentanyl deaths doubled in 2016.

Mike Riggs | 10.11.2017 10:50 AM

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HomePage

No, Simply Touching Fentanyl Can't Kill You

An anesthesiologist explains fentanyl 101.

Mike Riggs | 9.22.2017 2:35 PM

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