Every year that passes, drugs, many of them deadly, become more and more commonplace. Take fentanyl for example. Fentanyl is dozens of times more potent than heroin. Last year more than 67,000 people died from fentanyl in America. AND each year the number grows. In the entire Viet Nam war, some 53,00 U.S. soldiers were killed. We are losing more than that number EVERY YEAR from fentanyl. Like most other drugs, fentanyl is flooding into the U.S. from south of the border. Recently, local police discovered a shipment of pure unadulterated fentanyl being hauled on a interstate highway. The amount of pure fentanyl they found ? Enough to kill 20 million people. I don't generally think of myself as a conspiracy theorist , BUT it this case I can't help but wonder why the U.S. gov't is not doing everything in its power to stop this flood of deadly drugs ? I sometimes wonder if drug lords are getting help from within the U.S. gov't. It is one thing when uneducated, life-long criminals die of fentanyl, but is an entirely different thing when young teens experiment with drugs and die in the process. We are losing youngsters at an astonishing rate. If we do not do much, much more to stop this flow of drugs, it will eventually destroy America. If I were the president, I'd move heaven and earth to stop OR at a minimum DRASTICALLY cut back on fentanyl shipments. One of the 1st things I'd do is mobilize dozens of military divisions and locate them all along the southern U.S. border. If you had the power to act, what would you do ?
Yes. What most people don't know is that even the small amount of fentanyl dust in the air can kill. If that officer thought he was handling fentanyl, he should have been wearing a respirator and rubber gloves.
re: fentanyl. There are many levels of drug dealers; from the lowest, the street dealer, through all of the mid level dealers and all the way to the top , the "king pins". Starting at the lowest level, the street dealer. When he/she is caught with amounts of drugs FOR SALE, the 1st step should be to deny them any bail; citing risk of flight and/or multiple previous felonies. I'd stretch out the date of trial as long as possible. While they wait for trial, I'd work on them to try and get the name(s) of those who sold them the fentanyl in the 1st place. For the very lowest level dealer, "deals" could be made ie reduced sentences etc. At least in theory, this method can lead far up the line.
Another thing I'd do. I'd lunch a huge counter offensive intelligence operation throughout Central America. Moving in the deepest secret, I'd ask for and ask for volunteers and select Hispanics from the military and train them to be spies in their native countries. Probably ones who had been brought to the U.S. as children by their parents. We would work out a totally new identity and then "deport" them supposedly as undesirables. They'd travel back to their home countries and get jobs that have large group of patrons, such as bartenders, restaurant workers/owners, etc. At 1st, they'd ask NO questions whatsoever. Merely keep their ears open. Moving slowly, ever so slowly, they'd get involved in extremely minor drug buying. As time passed, they's pass on any information they had gathered to their AMERICAN control agents. Gradually, a network of higher drug dealers would start to become apparent. Under no conditions would any local police or gov't officials ever know what was happening.
Ok, set me straight ... if you think I'm wrong. In the grand scheme of things I really don't care. I mean, I'm not going to take an illegal drug so. And if people choose to, and it kills them ? ... oh well. Their choice. While we are still chasing the drugs, the dealers etc .. be certain our officers take all precautions , and receive up to date training .. or maybe better yet stop chasing all together. Again, it only affects a very small percentage of our society , and it appears to be something they do by choice , so let them. Seems to me it might just be a self correcting problem. In that I mean sooner or later they should all be dead ..... problem solved.
For people that do it to themselves, I don’t have a lot of sympathy. There are some folks though that get involved in this stuff that shouldn’t. The numbers are pretty big and our tax dollars go to emergency responders of all types wasting their time, and in some cases their lives, on this crap. These (link) are just the ones who died; many more needed emergency services. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
As a former EMS person (ambulance driver/attendant) of the mid-late 70's, I have to agree with both Ron and Thomas. There are lots of young folks, and some older ones, that get in with the wrong crowd and get hooked on illegal-highly deadly drugs. Some want help, while others totally resist help. No matter how deadly the drug is, they totally love the "high" it gives them. Would love to see the flow of these drugs stopped, but there just isn't much of a priority of doing that. Illegal, and deadly, drugs have been in America for years. Take a look at the old Woodstock and Monterey Pop Festival days/years of our Baby Boomer Generation. So many great singers/musicians died from deadly drugs (overdose) it's unbelievable. In one way or the other, no matter how much effort is put into stopping the flow of deadly drugs, they will continue to exist.
Good morning to all- I agree with Cody- there will always be a certain level of illicit and deadly drugs in our culture. People use these drugs for pain, relief from depression- whatever There is no way to totally stop the flow- I wish there were. But for those users and observers who say, "It's my life, I'll do what I want- it only affects me," Think about it- there are NO decisions which only affect the decider. Every single decision made- good or bad- has an effect on someone else. It's selfish for drug users to think that it's their right to decide to do deadly drugs because it only affects them. It affects everyone to one degree or another. And in the words of that old 60s Steppenwulf song, " God damn the pusher man!" you all be safe and keep well- Ed
I completely agree. Drugs, especially the hard drugs, affect many more people than the user. Just think what it would be like to be raising a family and the cops show up at your door and tell you that your 14 yr old son has died from the drug fentanyl. Additionally, there is the issue of rampant crime. Moreover, in the case of a family, one addicted drug user can and does affect the spouse and children.
Maybe keep a closer eye on a 14 yr/olds activities / life ? Just a thought, not judging, as I have no kids. I ask a friend once why he thought his boys were ... trouble free. He said,he and their mother insist that .. they all four sit down to supper every night , no matter what extracurricular activity might be missed. [Before cell-phones] No phone calls answered, no TV. After supper they all [including mom & dad], cleaned up, did the dishes, etc, & so-on. I had been to my friends house for supper, witnessed it for myself. Afterwards they went to baseball, basketball, hockey etc practice. Not a 'peep' from either boy, and the coaches accepted that, that was just the way it was .
This is a terrible thing, and sadly, a lot of it is caused because almost the only thing that our doctors do nowdays is prescribe drugs to people , right from the time they are young children. I lost a dear friend this way, and it all started because she had back pain when she was expecting her baby, and the doctor prescribed her painkillers that addicted her. Even after the baby, she still had terrible back pain, and one day just collapsed when she was working and had to go to the emergency room, where they gave her more drugs. Eventually, she was addicted, and started buying street drugs, ended up in a recovery center, lost her husband and children. She went to NA and was getting counseling, but something must have happened, and she did drugs and she overdosed. Whoever she was with dumped her body along the side of the road, and that is how she was found. She was only in her early 20’s when she died, way too soon. I am not saying that all drug users start this way; but doctors giving so many people addictive drugs has certainly made it worse.
That, of course, would be an ideal situation. However. how many parents can live up to that standard ? In todays world it usually takes BOTH parents working full-time to pay for family needs. In any event, no parent can possibly watch their children 24/7. All it takes is just one time at a friends house to allow the kid to experiment with a drug. If that drug is mixed with fentanyl, it could be the last mistake the child ever makes.
The President of Mexico, Obrador said that fentanyl is an American problem. He said that "American families are one parent families AND that they place their elderly parents in "old folks" homes and visit them once or twice a year". Obrador went on to say, " If American culture was more like Mexican culture, they would be no problem with drugs".
How many can "live-up" ? IMO, all should ! Your kids should be your number one priority ... period. You made them, they're your responsibility .... period. If the family "needs" exceed the income ? ... Cut back on the "needs"