US Must Give Fentanyl the Same Attention That It Gives Ukraine

This past weekend, a story broke that a social worker, a trading executive, and an attorney all died from fentanyl in 2021. The story partly grabbed headlines because the three accidentally took fentanyl when they ordered cocaine from a “DoorDash-style cocaine delivery service”. The three did not know that the cocaine had fentanyl mixed in it to increase drug traffickers’ profits. Additionally, the three came from different walks of life, so the story served as a reminder that drugs can impact anyone. Sadly, 71,000 Americans died from fentanyl in 2021. US leaders in business and the government could do more to stop fentanyl overdoses but have failed to. These “leaders” are the same people who have moralized about intervening in the crisis in Ukraine. US leaders need to dedicate the same resources and attention to fentanyl that they have given to Ukraine.

As with Ukraine, thousands of innocent people’s deaths have come from a corrupt foreign source. The fentanyl deaths are as tragic as the Ukrainian deaths. Unfortunately, most leaders in the US do not seem to see it that way.

Big tech remains complacent in the crisis. Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines has asked the big tech companies for concrete details on what they will do to stop these sales on their platforms. Daines has not received a substantive response. Families of the victims of fentanyl have protested for more action from big tech, but social media companies have remained silent.

Big tech has swiftly responded to Russian disinformation threats by blocking accounts and changing platform algorithms. Regardless of what someone thinks of these actions, big tech’s response to Ukraine versus fentanyl shows their priorities.

Congress has not fared better than big tech. While a few members of congress have introduced bills to fight fentanyl, these pieces of legislation have either received no action or members have actively blocked them. If passed, these bills would provide a substantive response that experts have asked for by removing barriers for research on fentanyl, funding addiction programs, and providing law enforcement more resources to investigate fentanyl crimes.

Meanwhile, Congress has managed to pass three support packages for Ukraine, which total $12.3 billion. Congress has also shown that they care more about Ukraine than fentanyl deaths.

The Biden administration has failed America on fentanyl. A group of bipartisan state attorneys general have demanded that the Biden administration classify fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” This classification would let the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Agency work with government divisions like the Department of Defense to combat the importation of the drugs. Fentanyl is entering the US through borders and ports, areas that defense agencies already work to keep safe. It makes sense for these agencies to coordinate. The Biden administration has not made this classification so far.

The Biden administration has allowed the US-Mexico border to get more out of control, which provides an opportunity for traffickers to traffic fentanyl. A few months ago, Fox News reporter Peter Doocey pressed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on what the Biden administration would do to address fentanyl at the border. Jean-Pierre got testy and abruptly ended the conversation.

The Biden administration has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Ukraine, and has advocated for more funding. The Biden administration is prioritizing Ukrainian lives over American ones.

US leaders are not wrong for protecting Ukraine. But it is outrageous that America’s leaders are not responding to the fentanyl crisis with the same urgency that they have shown for Ukraine.

Todd Carney is an international lawyer and a frequent writer on international issues. He earned his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.