Fentanyl Crackdown Is Bound to Fail, Like All Prohibitions

Lawmakers are right to want to do something that stops the rise in overdose deaths. But adding one category of opioids to the list of Schedule 1 drugs is an exercise in futility.

An illustration including photos of the drug Fentanyl and various Textures — Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty

Overdose deaths recently reached a record high)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-drug-overdose-deaths-top-109000-past-year-2023-06-14/__;!!LsXw!VO2Nle04e6LWCFsI5Qn4ju3EqoQz2E55_bfdPvs_DT7kx9j2vs9xO9mfJf5b6Nzj3vkVF17hJfNJ9nVEP4EFcgtDlNWC$">record high of 109,000 Americans, with roughly three-quarters)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm__;!!LsXw!VO2Nle04e6LWCFsI5Qn4ju3EqoQz2E55_bfdPvs_DT7kx9j2vs9xO9mfJf5b6Nzj3vkVF17hJfNJ9nVEP4EFciK-kAzj$">three-quarters involving opioids and 90 percent involving illicit fentanyl. As a result, lawmakers have decided to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic,

Government’s Fentanyl Crackdown Is Bound to Fail, Like All Prohibitions Do

Lawmakers are right to want to do something that stops the rise in overdose deaths. But adding one category of opioids to the list of Schedule 1 drugs is an exercise in futility.

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Jeffrey Singer

Josh Bloom