NewsWire
from Demography
Fear of Fentanyl Going Into Moral Panic Mode
Last Friday, hundreds of families shattered by fentanyl overdoses rallied outside of the White House for more decisive government action. And indeed, at both local and national level, policy responses to the epidemic are becoming more sweeping, drastic, and punitive.
In our frequent NewsWires on fentanyl, we have often noted the odd juxtaposition between the drug's terrifying mortality trajectory and the leisurely pace of public policy response. (See "Fentanyl Epidemic Accelerates" and "Drug Overdose Deaths Continue Their Relentless Rise.”) It has long been clear that fentanyl poses an unprecedented public health threat. It's a highly addictive opioid that is (a) cheap to fabricate, (b) deadly in very small quantities (2 mg will kill), (c) convenient for smuggling or mailing, and (d) easy to cut into other illegal drugs or to add into fake prescription medications.
In the 12 months ending in April 2022, 73K people died from synthetic opioid (i.e., fentanyl) overdoses. That's an astonishing rise of +11.3% YoY and +122.7% from April 2019.
Thus far, the government response to this growing catastrophe has been business as usual, limited mostly to traditional drug enforcement and public outreach. But now the mood may be changing.
All in all, the fentanyl epidemic may become a significant issue in the upcoming midterms. Each party has an angle to play.
In general, moral panic usually helps conservatives. And any call for a harder line on crime and immigration will certainly help Republicans. It may be giving a boost to incumbent Ron Johnson (R-WI) in his close race against Mandela Barnes, a progressive Democratic who has in the past called for "defunding police."
The call for a large-scale national response, on the other hand, usually favors Democrats, especially now that so many Republicans are vilifying federal law-enforcement agencies as tools of the deep state. So far, Biden has not called for such a response--which may be a lost opportunity for the Democrats. Instead, it's mostly Republicans. For example, most of the attorneys general urging Biden to give DHS and DOD greater enforcement powers were Republicans. On a national level, this message may generate message confusion in states and districts running pro-Trump GOP candidates.
Bottom line. We've been waiting for the public and national leaders to show some alarm about the trajectory of the fentanyl epidemic. Now we may be seeing it.