Shocking news came from the Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday: drug deaths in the US have spiked 30 percent. The year 2020 saw a record 93000 deaths, making it the largest single-year increase recorded.

Keith Humphreys, a professor and drug and addiction expert at Stanford, said that this is the “worst overdose crisis” in history:

“It’s the worst overdose crisis in the history of the United States, and we’re not making progress. It’s really overwhelming.”

Moreover, that also includes the greatest number of deaths from opioids, methamphetamines, and synthetic opioids like Fentanyl. In fact, dealers often mix Fentanyl with cocaine and meth, allowing them to tap into Black, Latino, and Native American communities.

Even worse is the fact that drug deaths were already on the upswing in 2019. Then 2020 arrived, bringing the Covid pandemic with it.

According to Regina LaBelle, acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy:

“Rates of overdose death were going up; they were on the upswing. Certainly, Covid didn’t help and likely exacerbated things, but we were seeing an increase before.”

Unlike Covid deaths, however, most of the drug deaths happened in younger populations. Bit it’s no surprise, really, considering that pandemic lockdowns resulted in social isolation. Plus, young adults lost their jobs, making the isolation even worse. Drug users also failed to access facilities that served them; for instance, the director of a Philadelphia clinic saw his appointments drop by 20 percent last year. 

Illicit Fentanyl factory. r. nial bradshaw/flickr/CC BY 2.0. 

Meanwhile, at our southern border, chaos reigns as immigrants attempt to get into the US, either by claiming asylum or by illegal entry. Guess what else is flooding the border?

Fentanyl. That’s because the drug is potent, easy to smuggle, and — most of all — profitable.

Drug smuggling is surging at our border, as cartels take advantage of migrants trying to enter the United States. As Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said in an interview:

“For the first time, we’re starting to see these tactics where fentanyl is being smuggled between ports of entry. Cartels are very creative. They find ways to intimidate migrants and find ways to illegally have them transport that narcotic into the United States.”

What’s more, fentanyl and meth seizures at ports of entry are up this year 719 and 781 percent, respectively. And then — as if things couldn’t get worse — add Chinese criminals to the mix. The US Drug Enforcement Agency reports that Chinese money-laundering rings operate in places like Chicago and New York, cleaning Mexican cartel drug money.

Houston, we have a major problem with drug deaths. Yes, Covid had a devastating impact on what was already a growing problem. But inconsistent border enforcement is only making a terrible problem even worse. And drug cartels are right there, sniffing out weaknesses. Moreover, the Biden administration’s weak-tea message on the southern border lays out the welcome mat for cartels smuggling drugs like Fentanyl.

Featured image: ashley rose/flickr/cropped/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.