A flawed counter-opioid strategy

There is no question that over-prescription and a lamentable lack of accountability and proper medical follow-up were major, though not exclusive, contributors to the crisis. But the medical community and pharmaceutical industry have recognized this, and their collective mea culpas have resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of overdose deaths from prescription opioids over the past several years. At the same time, however, the fatality rate from illegal opioids, such as heroin, illegally manufactured fentanyl, and the like, have increased even more dramatically.

Our tack to dealing with this issue should have changed with the changing nature of the problem. Regrettably, this has not been the case. It has been far easier for politicians to go after establishment bogeymen, such as the pharmaceutical industry, than to treat the 2021 crisis as it is; a crime problem. That is to say, a problem in which the criminal suppliers of this illegal poison need to be targeted and shut down. We must also do more to ensure that the unfortunate users of these substances receive treatment — even if that means arrests to get them into care.

As a case in point, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson is gearing up to sue Johnson & Johnson for creating the opioid epidemic. He’s taking a page from Oklahoma, which, back in 2019, used a legally dubious “public nuisance” argument to target the firm. Johnson & Johnson eventually ended up paying some $465 million to the state. Unfortunately, this has done nothing to stem the flow of illegal fentanyl and heroin into the Sooner State.

Washington will have no better luck, whether or not their virtue-signaling lawsuit is successful. The squalor of the homeless camps and the rampant crime in Seattle, which has generated a fair bit of publicity, is not the result of hip replacement patients being prescribed oxycontin to manage their pain. The crisis in Seattle is fueled by the illegal narcotics being funneled to the dealers quite familiar with the city’s underclass. The crisis is being exacerbated by the refusal of Seattle officials to do anything about it for fear of appearing intolerant by impeding on someone’s chosen lifestyle.

While some attorney generals are intent on earning their PR stripes by going after the makers of legal, regulated painkillers, there is a corresponding effort in some jurisdictions to downplay the impact of illegal opioids. In this twilight zone age of what is euphemistically taxonomized as “criminal justice reform,” states such as Colorado are more comfortable decriminalizing even hard drugs and reducing the offense levels assigned to possession. The state passed a law making possession of up to 4 grams of essentially any hard drug, including synthetic opioids, a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Four grams of fentanyl would kill you or me several times over. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials sounding the alarm over this law say that it’s the equivalent of more than 13,000 fatal doses of fentanyl or more than 200,000 fatal doses of carfentanil.

So if you are a drug dealer working the wretched corners of Denver, you simply peddle 4 grams at a time. Even if an eager police officer decides to waste their time arresting you, you’ll likely face only probation and a nominal fine. You’ll probably be back in business within a week.

Meanwhile, addicted victims are inflaming the crime problem as they rob and steal whatever they need to feed their addiction. The resistance of local officials to force these users into treatment ensures that their condition will be prolonged until their final, fatal overdose.

Our opioid strategy is a tragic absurdity, where we distract ourselves with lawsuits against politically expedient scapegoats while ignoring the criminal distribution of the substance that is the main culprit.

Kelly Sloan (@KVSloan25) is a Denver-based public affairs consultant and columnist.