OPINION:
How many American teens have to fall victim to fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills trafficked across the southern border by Mexican cartels before our government takes decisive action?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention continues to publish annual reports documenting a pattern of increased fatal overdoses attributed to illegally made fentanyl produced by the Mexican cartels. From 2019 to 2021, there was an 182% increase in deaths linked to fentanyl, and the best the federal government can do is play the blame game.
No one should lose their life from ingesting one counterfeit pill ir smoking one unregulated tainted joint or counterfeit “wet” cigarette dipped in liquid drugs. It is past time our government leaders address the crisis and the dangerous cartels stampeding across the border.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “One Pill Can Kill” fact sheet, fentanyl is the primary driver in the alarming increase in overdose deaths in the U.S. The number of overdose fatalities was reported to be over 100,000 in a 12-month period. And the number of pills seized that contain a lethal quantity of fentanyl continues to grow, from 4 in 10 in 2021 to 6 in 10 in 2022. One year later, that number has grown to 7 in 10. Is this alarming increase causing any concern for our federal leaders?
The DEA also issues annual public advisories that identify who was responsible for trafficking this poison into the U.S. The agency confirmed what has been well known for years: The dangerous and greedy drug networks in Mexico are actively engaging in large-scale production and manufacturing of lethal fentanyl and fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills.
Despite our government confirming the culprit behind our lethal drug crisis, inaction continues. They issued the same alert in 2022, and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram identified the responsible Mexican cartels in a statement to the Justice Department, stating that “these pills are being mass-produced by the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel in Mexico.”
According to the Customs and Border Protection website, the volume of fentanyl-laced substances being seized is soaring year after year, with the latest numbers topping 27,000 pounds from October 2022 to September 2023. When you consider that just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equivalent to just a fraction of the weight of a penny, is a lethal dose, envisioning the potential impact is staggering. If all that was seized had entered the country, it would have represented more than 6 billion lethal doses coming into the U.S. in fiscal 2023.
Tragically, about 25% of adolescent deaths had evidence of counterfeit pills. Lethal counterfeit pills have elevated the risk of fatal overdoses for teens, more than doubling from 2019 to 2021. Our children are our most precious assets, and we must advocate decisive action to protect them and their exposure to deadly drugs
The Border Patrol’s union has communicated a strong need for more resources to combat this perilous situation. National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd stated that “we’ve got more fentanyl coming into this country than we’ve ever seen before.” Given that Mr. Judd represents those on the front lines, his comments should showcase a heightened sense of urgency for the Biden administration and our elected officials to act swiftly.
Sadly, instead of acting on the drug crisis on our border, the Biden administration has opted to turn to other political priorities, such as a menthol ban. A ban on menthol cigarettes will ultimately empower the Mexican cartel’s illicit market and further their motivations to increase the availability of harmful counterfeit substances.
The Food and Drug Administration purports that their proposed ban would protect Black communities from menthol cigarettes. Young Black males, however, are the largest consumers of unregulated individual counterfeit cigarettes, known as “loosies.” If the ill-advised ban were to go into effect, the demand for counterfeit loosies would skyrocket, and the Mexican cartels would be quick to traffic a new product into Black communities.
According to the Tax Foundation, smuggled cigarettes available in the U.S. do not meet the quality control standard that legitimate brand cigarettes do, with cases showing remnants of insect eggs, dead flies, mold, and human feces found in these counterfeit products. This ban will inevitably create a situation where teens think they are getting a cheap cigarette, but they are instead smoking an unregulated product manufactured by Mexican drug cartels.
Experts have added serious concerns about the effect the ban would have on the drug crisis. Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels said, “With financial incentives this powerful, the question isn’t whether an illicit market for flavored tobacco will rise, but just how big it will be.”
Without question, both our children and our homeland are at great risk while the Mexican cartels continue to smuggle deadly products into our country. If not for the work of DEA, CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the border sheriffs, and other law enforcement components, the overdose death rate would be higher. If this nightmare scenario does not compel the Biden administration and Congress to take immediate action to protect our citizens, then we will remain vulnerable to the nefarious influence of the cartels.
The administration should agree to provide more enforcement resources to patrol the country’s largest crime scene and withdraw from any plan to enact a ban that would add to the drug trade. Our children deserve no less, and we should not lose one more person to the lethal counterfeit poison peddled across the border by the cartels.
It is past time to support law and order, secure the border, and save American lives.
• Jon Adler is the former director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. He is also the former chief firearms and tactical training officer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and a 26-year federal law enforcement veteran.
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