Lawmakers and prosecutors may be under addressing the opioid crisis, specifically with regards to illegal fentanyl. The past stigma of over-policing recreational drugs and drug users may be partially to blame for this policy blind spot, but unless things change this crisis may only get worse.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that for the 12-month period ending in April 2021, over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses for the first time ever.
This grim new milestone has unfortunately been slowly building, as America has seen a twentyfold increase in the opioid death rate between the years 1990 and 2020. Source: Law Enforcement Today
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