Fentanyl crisis: Is it a supply problem or a demand problem?

[OtterMan68]

The GOP is convinced that the Fentanyl crisis is caused by supply coming in over the border, and if the border is closed, that will solve the crisis. Do you agree?

Demand: as long as people demand it, someone will supply it

Supply: If we cut off the supply, people will stop demanding it

[Anonymous]

Technically it is both, as the demand is driven by addiction.

In reality the addicts need to be arrested and jailed for a year or more so the State can forcefully deny them the drug long enough to overcome the addiction.

Beyond that the only thing the feds can do is make it harder and more expensive to import such drugs. Which does help as it forces the people who need help to make themselves more visible.

[msc545]

Denying people drugs doesn't "overcome" the addiction.

[Opinion Owner]

@msc545 Not always but you can also throw in consoling, and I'm not sure what else can be done.

Biologically for most drugs the brain needs to balance itself and if the person can't control themselves long enough to do that they need to be forcefully controlled. A prison cell might do the trick provided you can keep the drugs out of said prison.

[msc545]

Yes you know we have this thing called withdrawal with the assistance of drugs which actually keeps the person from doing things like having seizures and dying. Admittedly, dead people are not drug addicts but they tend to smell up the place and are very inconvenient to dispose of. We don't normally use complete abstinence abruptly to help people withdraw from drugs because it literally does tend to kill people. We also use drugs like Suboxone to help people withdraw gradually. This tends to work better and actually costs less.

[NamerOfStars]

American politics is just stupid sometimes. For decades, it's boiled down to one question: "Making something illegal does not make it go away, and complex social problems can't be legislated out of existence without addressing the root causes. Do you want to ignore the previous fact for abortion, or do you want to ignore it for gun violence?".

Now it seems we've added another permutation.

[exitseven]

It is more complex than just closing the border. Dealers need to get the death penalty for selling poison. The penalty must be so great that most people will not want to risk it.

No more normalizing this behavior by calling it opioid use disorder like it is like getting covid. There needs to be some degree of shame in being a junkie instead of making kids think it is cool.

[BoopBoopBeep]

To the anonymous below, fenny is absolutely a drug that has demand from users. Yes a lot of dealers lace their shite with it, but a lot of people are taking it recreationally as well.

[Sharkstealth]

Every drug is a demand problem. If there wasn't a consumer it would vanish. No cocaine equal no cartels. No heroin equal no middle east terrorism. The terrorism might not be entirely true for they might find another way to fund it but today it's heroin.

[Anonymous]

Neither, it's an addiction problem. Fentanyl isn't even a drug that is in demand from users. But is about a 1000 times more addictive than heroine. This is why dealers use it. They cut it with other drugs to ensure repeat customers. Problem is it's deadly. And we're not talking about trained pharmacists here. So they can also easily kill thier customers with a shotty dosage. But that's ok. Those are acceptable losses to a cartel. Human life has no value to them, only money.

[jamesgoldman]

Demand, look at Escobar and coke

He had shopping containers, truck tires, submarines even helicopters/planes

[Dargil]

The supply issue is far easier to control. It has worked with cigarettes. It is far more difficult to lobby people to change their behavior.

[OtterMan68]

so it's an education issue?
We never banned cigarettes

[Dargil]

"We never banned cigarettes" Nor did I say so.
It is a supply issue for Fentanyl. Behavior changes will come when the supply is restricted.

[OtterMan68]

that didn't work with prohibition.

[DiegoO]

Obviously is the demand. Without demand there is no product.

[KrakenAttackin]

All drug abuse problems are demand problems.

[msc545]

clearly a demand problem. Also, as long as it sells for a lot people will make it.

[msc545]

You can also make sure that the supply of drugs goes way down by simply legalizing a given drug. When the drug becomes so cheap on the open market that it isn't worth selling it and getting a heavy legal penalty nobody will bother selling it anymore. This is a surefire way to take a drug off the market completely.

[msc545]

Okay, that should be almost legalizing it. In other words, making the penalties for it so lightweight but they are relatively insignificant. Nobody will sell it.

[WindyandWarms]

Babies die from this shit. Biden doesn't care, and neither do you. Orange man bad.

[WindyandWarms]

Supply. Just like the Covid virus. There was no demand for the virus. Fauci provided it.

[WindyandWarms]

I posted a question to make you look like the moron you are. lol

[jimmy2]

Biden allowed all kinds of drugs. Killers , armies, sleeper cells watch out this year it's on in America

[OtterMan68]

So does that mean it’s a supply problem

[laly520]

there is no stopping it

[jshm2]

Neither. It's a USA problem