An epidemic of fentanyl misinformation: How politicians fail to understand the synthetic opioid – By Troy Farah (Salon) / Nov 4, 2022
More politicians say fentanyl should be deemed a “weapon of mass destruction.” Do they even understand what it is?
Illicit fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is driving overdose deaths in North America, is a major public health crisis — and some policymakers believe the drug is so deadly, it should be reclassified and put into the same category as nuclear bombs and mustard gas.
As the U.S. midterm elections edge closer, calls to label fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction” (WMD) have emerged from both Democrats and Republicans. In June, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) introduced the “Fentanyl is a WMD Act,” a short, two-paragraph bill that directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “treat illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”
The draft legislation, which has nine Republican co-sponsors, hasn’t gone far in Congress yet. But in the same month, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) introduced a similar bill with more specifics. Ryan’s bill would empower the federal government to “go after international trafficking syndicates and root out illicit manufacturers and traffickers to take action to stop fentanyl from reaching the border.” It, too, has stalled in Congress, with only one Democratic co-sponsor.
