{"id":2282993,"date":"2024-06-25T06:46:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T10:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-completely-ignores-the-fentanyl-problem\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T06:50:09","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T10:50:09","slug":"biden-completely-ignores-the-fentanyl-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-completely-ignores-the-fentanyl-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Completely Ignores The Fentanyl Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-completely-ignores-the-fentanyl-problem%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282993&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The content primarily \u200bdiscusses the impact of Joe Biden&#8217;s policies\u200d on America\u2019s opioid crisis, \u200cspecifically focusing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/more-fentanyl-seized-at-u-s-borders-than-heroin-for-first-time-in-u-s-history\/\" title=\"More Fentanyl Seized At U.S. Borders Than Heroin For First Time In U.S. History\">fentanyl-related overdose deaths<\/a>. It highlights the significant increase in deaths due to fentanyl under\u2062 Biden&#8217;s administration,\u200d suggesting \u2062that though COVID-19\u2063 was handled\u2062 as a global pandemic,\u200d the fentanyl crisis has been \u2064under-addressed. The \u200corigins of fentanyl are traced back to China and Mexico, \u200bfrom where it is smuggled into the U.S. \u200dThe piece criticizes Biden\u2019s\u2063 shift\u200d from drug interdiction to focusing \u2064more \u200con treatment and prevention, arguing that this aligns with his policy of maintaining \u2062open borders, \u2064which\u200b has inadvertently facilitated the easier smuggling of \u2064illegal drugs like fentanyl.\u2063 Additionally, \u2062it \u2064mentions recent political maneuvers, including agreements\u200b with China and new immigration policies, but expresses skepticism about their effectiveness. the discussion positions\u2063 the fentanyl\u2063 crisis as a significant, yet politically sensitive challenge exacerbated by current administration policies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Nothing proves that what goes around comes around like presidential debates. In their last meeting, Joe Biden gratuitously slammed Donald Trump for his Covid response. In their upcoming debate this Thursday, Trump should return the favor and remind viewers of the effects Biden\u2019s open-border policy has had on America\u2019s fentanyl crisis.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020\u2019s final presidential debate, Biden attacked Trump for America\u2019s 220,000 Covid deaths, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barrons.com\/news\/biden-anyone-responsible-for-so-many-covid-deaths-should-not-be-president-01603416304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cAnyone who\u2019s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,\u201d then adding\u00a0that \u201cthe president still has no comprehensive plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Never mind that Covid was a <em>global<\/em> pandemic. Ditto that\u00a0America\u2019s annual Covid death totals have also been unforgiving for Biden. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nvss\/vsrr\/covid_weekly\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CDC<\/a>, in 2020 under Trump, 385,666 Americans died from Covid; in 2021 under Biden, 463,263 died, 246,161 died in 2022, and 51,684 died in 2023 \u2014 761,108 in total. That averages 253,702 per year, higher than the total for which Biden criticized Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Yet an even less defensible pandemic continues to sweep the country under Biden, one he has largely ignored because its origins are too politically embarrassing. According to the CDC, \u201coverdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl)\u201d accounted for 75 percent of America\u2019s estimated drug overdose deaths in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2024\/20240515.htm#:~:text=The%20new%20data%20show%20overdose,psychostimulants%20(like%20methamphetamine)%20increased.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023<\/a> \u2014 81,083 of 107,543. Last year was hardly an outlier. Opioid deaths were 80,816 in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2022\/202205.htm#:~:text=The%20new%20data%20show%20overdose,in%202021%20compared%20to%202020.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2021<\/a> and 84,181 in 2022. Biden\u2019s first three years saw almost a quarter of a million deaths. <\/p>\n<p>Illicitly manufactured and distributed, fentanyl is an extraordinarily lethal synthetic opioid. The Council on Foreign Relations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/fentanyl-and-us-opioid-epidemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>: \u201cA lethal dose requires just two milligrams of the drug \u2014 an amount <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.texas.gov\/services\/mental-health-substance-use\/mental-health-substance-use-resources\/fentanyl-one-pill-kills\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">roughly equivalent<\/a> to ten to fifteen grains of table salt.\u201d\u00a0For good reason,\u00a0U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) head Anne Milgram <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/changing-america\/well-being\/3484416-us-drug-overdose-deaths-hit-another-record-high\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> it \u201cthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-cruz-only-billionaires-human-traffickers-and-fentanyl-dealers-are-better-off-under-biden\/\" title=\"Sen Cruz: Only Billionaires, Human Traffickers, and Fentanyl Dealers Are Better Off Under Biden\">single deadliest drug threat<\/a> our nation has ever encountered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While a national crisis, fentanyl disproportionately affects urban areas and black people. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9447354\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cities<\/a> had twice the overdose rate of other regions in their states, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9447354\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">black<\/a> overdose rates were four to six times higher than those of whites. Finally, beyond killing more than 1,500 Americans weekly, Congress\u2019s Joint Economic Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/beyer.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5684\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">estimated<\/a> it cost America $1.5 trillion in 2020. <\/p>\n<p>Fentanyl\u2019s origins are equally well known. Precursor chemicals come from China; they are manufactured into fentanyl in Mexico; drug cartels then smuggle it across our southern border. Its extreme strength makes for easy transport in small quantities. The median weight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/fentanyl-and-us-opioid-epidemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seized<\/a> is just 1.2 kilograms, but that\u2019s enough for 50,000 lethal doses. <\/p>\n<p>Despite its carnage, cost, and countries being recognized, Biden switched course from previous administrations. The Economist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/graphic-detail\/2024\/03\/14\/americas-fentanyl-epidemic-explained-in-six-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a>: \u201cIn 2021, for the first time, the government spent more on treatment and prevention than on trying to reduce the supply of drugs.\u201d Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/biden-takes-a-reformist-drug-strategy-but-the-challenge-of-supply-countries-remains\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>: \u201cThe emphasis on treatment, prevention, and harm reduction dominates the administration\u2019s new drug policy plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s switch from interdiction to prevention fit neatly with his political priorities, particularly opening the southern border. Simply, he could not open the southern border to illegal immigrants and seek to close it to illegal opioids at the same time. So illegal immigration prevailed.<\/p>\n<p>This intersection of policy and politics, immigration and fentanyl, has played out further as the election loomed. In November 2023, Biden announced an agreement with China regarding fentanyl. Just recently, he announced a new immigration policy. Both are less than meets the eye. <\/p>\n<p>In its reporting of the China deal, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-67489395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC<\/a> quoted Thomas Bollyky, \u201ca former US trade official and veteran of negotiations with China,\u201d as cautioning that while \u201cthe central government is \u2018capable\u2019 of effectively cracking down on chemical firms involved in the fentanyl trade. The bigger question is if \u2018it\u2019s a sufficient priority.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Almost three years into his presidency, it\u2019s fair to put the same question to Biden\u2019s administration. Certainly, it\u2019s not been one for China, as Brown from Brookings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/chinas-role-in-the-fentanyl-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> a year ago: \u201c\u2026in August 2022, China officially announced that it suspended all of its counternarcotics and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-meets-virtually-with-mexican-leader-on-immigration-ccp-virus-climate-issues\/\" title=\"Biden Meets Virtually With Mexican Leader on Immigration, CCP Virus, Climate Issues\">law enforcement cooperation<\/a> with the United States.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Mexico has been similarly uncooperative. It has both denied <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-67489395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responsibility<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/chinas-role-in-the-fentanyl-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hindered<\/a> U.S. law enforcement efforts south of the border. Similar to his recently heightened interest in China, Biden\u2019s interest in Mexico rose with the election\u2019s proximity. His latest border initiative \u2014 which undermines his prior argument that he was unable to act unilaterally \u2014 essentially formalizes America\u2019s illegal immigration crisis. An NPR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/05\/10\/1250198213\/asymum-border-immigrant-rule-biden-crossing#:~:text=The%20latest%20measure%20by%20President,anti%2Dillegal%20migration%20advocates%20said.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headline<\/a> sums it up: \u201cBiden\u2019s new asylum rule would have \u2018minimal\u2019 impact on unauthorized border crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Concerning fentanyl, Biden has done what Biden does: facile policy feints that serve his political priorities, while ignoring the obvious source. He has because recognizing it would require admitting his minimal influence with America\u2019s primary adversary, despite its role in tens of thousands of American deaths annually, and his unwillingness to secure the border over which fentanyl pours.<\/p>\n<p>More than 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam. Their names are rightfully inscribed on a wall on the National Mall in Washington. Sadly, four times more have died from fentanyl overdoses during Biden\u2019s presidency. Yet there is no wall on the National Mall to them. And thanks to Biden, there is no wall on the southern border either.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Presidential debates epitomize the adage &#8220;what goes around comes around.&#8221; Joe Biden criticized Donald Trump&#8217;s Covid response in their last encounter. In the next debate, Trump can highlight the impact of Biden&#8217;s open-border policy on America&#8217;s fentanyl crisis, reciprocating the criticism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2425,"featured_media":2282994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/53332716294_82adc67737_k.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[3620,32564,32563,32566,32565],"class_list":["post-2282993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-biden","tag-drug-epidemic","tag-fentanyl-crisis","tag-presidential-response","tag-substance-abuse"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/53332716294_82adc67737_k.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}