Why fentanyl busts cause drug deaths to go up

                                                      Dr. Jeffrey Singer

Huge numbers of people die from drug overdoses in the U.S., but somehow drug warriors still get to set policy. 

In a new piece, "Fentanyl Police Busts Actually Make the Overdose Problem Much Worse," David J. Bier and Jeffrey Singer explain why the law enforcement in what RAW called "the war on some drugs" actually makes overdose deaths more likely. Excerpt:

"Start with the short term. When local law enforcement conducts major drug busts, they do temporarily disrupt the market for street drugs, but people who use and have grown dependent on drugs do not simply give up drugs and live clean. Instead, they search out new, unfamiliar dealers who might sell them drugs with different ingredients and potency, which can lead to more deaths.

"Now, it’s true that it might take days or weeks for drug users to connect with a new dealer, and this might seem to 'save lives.' But this often backfires, because by the time they find a new source, users’ tolerance has waned, making them more susceptible to a fatal overdose if they consume their usual dose."

Singer is a reliable source of good information on the war on drugs. (I suspect Bier is, too, but Singer is the person I am more familiar with.)

Bill would legalize marijuana for the federal government

 Photo by Damian Barczak on Unsplash

As I have written a lot about marijuana policy lately, I  thought I would mention that five lawmakers in Congress, including one from Ohio, the state where I live, have introduced a bill to remove many of the federal barriers to commerce in marijuana.

Here's what Dr. Jeffrey Singer, one of my favorite policy sources on the "war on some drugs," wrote on the Cato Institute's blog:

"Yesterday, December 7, 2023, Representative David Joyce (R‑OH), joined by four colleagues—Earl Blumenauer (D‑OR), Brian Mast (R‑FL), Lori Chavez‐​DeRemer (R‑OR), and Troy Carter (D‑LA)— introduced a revised version of the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act. As its name implies, the bill seeks to bring US marijuana policy more in line with the Tenth Amendment and federalism.

"The Tenth Amendment states:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

"The bill, which some call 'STATES Act 2.0,' removes marijuana as a substance covered by the federal Controlled Substances Act. This means marijuana will no longer be on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of controlled substances. While the Biden administration has been open to the idea of rescheduling marijuana, the STATES Act would de‐​schedule it, a move I have long advocated.

"It would also federally decriminalize people using, selling, or transferring marijuana if it is legal in their state, territory, or tribal reservation and if they comply with state regulations. Moreover, it allows for interstate commerce in marijuana."

More here. 

'Against Scientific Gatekeeping'

Robert Anton Wilson used to write a lot about the EXPERTS and excessive deference to authority, and Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer (who is doing great work in what RAW called the "war on some drugs") makes much the same point in his recent Reason magazine article, "Against Scientific Gatekeeping.", which argues that during the Covid-19 pandemic, a "priesthood" should not be allowed to decide which ideas should be entertained.

Singer makes it clear that this is not the same thing as embracing every crazy idea that comes along; he notes that after initial interest in hydroxychloroquine, "numerous randomized controlled trials failed to demonstrate the drug's effectiveness." And about vaccines, he writes, "To be clear: As a physician, I have no doubt that the mRNA vaccines are both safe and highly effective, especially for the age group most at risk."

Singer will participate in an upcoming debate in New York City. on whether prescriptions of pain pills have driven the opioid epidemic.  And why isn't the FDA letting doctors prescribe Fluvoxamine as a COVID-19 treatment?