28Received 21.10.2024. Revised 18.12.2024. Accepted 27.02.2025.
Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development No. 075-15-2024-551 “Global and Regional Centers of Power in the Emerging World Order”.
Abstract. The article is devoted to the features of the third wave of the opioid crisis in the USA, which began in 2013 and reached its peak during the presidency of Joe Biden. The new opioid crisis is primarily associated with the synthetic drug fentanyl, which has a number of features that have led to its rapid popularization. It is characterized by low production costs and, as a result, a low price for buyers. Fentanyl is a potent drug, and a fatal overdose is possible with just 2 mg. The article pays special attention to how the immigration crisis that flared up under Biden contributed to the increase in the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The authors analyze the main measures taken by Obama, Trump and Biden administrations to counter the opioid crisis. Biden’s drug policy has faced serious criticism from Republicans due to the fact that the two parties rely on different approaches in attempts to solve this problem in the USA. While Democrats focus on improving access to quality treatment for drug addicts, Republicans believe that without tightening immigration policy significantly, it is impossible to successfully solve this problem. In addition to that, the authors show the role of China and Mexico in the opioid crisis in the USA. Despite the fact that the PRC authorities have banned the production of fentanyl, Chinese pharmaceutical companies continue to supply Mexico with precursors – chemicals necessary for the production of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In turn, the Mexican authorities have refrained from pursuing a tough policy towards drug cartels and any active actions with the Biden administration in this area. Finally, the article draws special attention to the factor of Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, which will lead to increased pressure from the American side on its foreign partners to make greater efforts in the fight against drug trafficking.
Keywords: USA, fentanyl, opioid crisis, Mexico, China, drug cartels, D. Trump, J. Biden
REFERENCES
1. Han B., Einstein E., Jones Ch. et al. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Drug Overdose Deaths in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network, 20.09.2022. Available at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2796547#:~:text=During%20March%20to%20August%202021%2C%20overall%20drug%20overdose%20rates%20were,CI%2C%2041.8%2D44.8 (accessed 15.07.2024).
2. Vankar P. Number of Overdose Deaths from Fentanyl in the U.S. from 1999 to 2022. Statista, 22.05.2024. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/895945/fentanyl-overdose-deaths-us/ (accessed 11.12.2024).
3. Stanley Th.H. The Fentanyl Story. The Journal of Pain, 2014, vol. 15, no. 12, pp. 1215-1226. Available at: https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(14)00905-5/pdf (accessed 15.07.2024).
4. Comer S.D., Cahill C.M. Fentanyl: Receptor Pharmacology, Abuse Potential, and Implications for Treatment. Neurosci Biobehav Reviews, 2019, vol. 106, pp. 49-57. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.12.005
5. Sjostedt D. Why is Fentanyl Drastically Cheaper in San Francisco than in LA, NYC and Philly? The San Francisco Standard, 22.01.2024. Available at: https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/22/cheap-street-fentanyl-san-francisco/ (accessed 12.07.2024).
6. Klobucista C., Ferragamo M. Fentanyl and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic. Council on Foreign Relations, 22.12.2023. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/fentanyl-and-us-opioid-epidemic (accessed 07.02.2024).
7. Felbab-Brown V. Fending off Fentanyl and Hunting Down Heroin: Controlling Opioid Supply from Mexico. Brookings Insitution, 22.07.2020. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/fending-off-fentanyl-and-hunting-down-heroin-suppressing-opioid-supply-from-mexico/ (accessed 09.03.2024).
8. Chernykh M. Illegal Migration on the US-Canada Border. Russia and America in the 21st Century, 2024, no. 6. (In Russ.) Available at: https://doi.org/10.18254/s207054760031518-6
9. Shih G. China Touts Its Crackdown on Fentanyl, urged by Trump, as Drug-Ring Members are Sentenced. The Washington Post, 07.11.2019. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/china-touts-crackdown-on-fentanyl-urged-by-trump-as-it-sentences-drug-ring-members/2019/11/07/d72c2196-010c-11ea-8341-cc3dce52e7de_story.html (accessed 21.05.2024).
10. Myers S. China Cracks Down on Fentanyl. But Is It Enough to End the U.S. Epidemic? The New York Times, 01.12.2019. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/world/asia/china-fentanyl-crackdown.html (accessed 30.05.2024).
11. Dilanian K., Richards Z. China is Funding the U.S. Fentanyl Crisis, House Panel Says in New Report. NBC News, 16.04.2024. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/china-funding-us-fentanyl-crisis-house-panel-says-new-report-rcna147952 (accessed 30.04.2024).
12. Dilanian K. Drug War Cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico is at Its Lowest Point in Decades. What Went Wrong? NBC News, 17.03.2023. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/no-cooperation-us-mexico-drug-war-rcna75093 (accessed 12.05.2024).
13. Alvarado A. Mexico Makes Record Fentanyl Bust Days after Trump Tariff Threat. CNN, 04.12.2024. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/04/americas/mexico-fentanyl-seizure-trump-tariffs-intl-latam/index.html (accessed 08.12.2024).
SOURCES
1. World Drug Report 2023. New-York, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2023. 52 p. (In Russ.) Available at: https://www.unodc.org/res/WDR-2023/WDR23_ExSum_Russian.pdf (accessed 15.04.2024).
2. The Fentanyl Crisis in America: Inaction is No Longer an Option. 118th Congress (2023-2024). Congress.gov, 01.03.2023. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/115371/text (accessed 05.03.2024).
3. U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018. National Center for Health Statistics, 15.05.2024. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2024/20240515.htm (accessed 19.07.2024).
4. USA Facts Team. Are Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Rising in the US? USA Facts, 27.09.2023. Available at: https://usafacts.org/articles/are-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-rising-in-the-us/#footnote-1 (accessed 11.12.2024).
5. Facts about Fentanyl. United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl (accessed 04.03.2024).
6. Fentanyl. Beach Cities Health District. Available at: https://www.bchd.org/fentanyl (accessed 11.04.2024).
7. DEA Laboratory Testing Reveals that 6 out of 10 Fentanyl-Laced Fake Prescription Pills Now Contain a Potentially Lethal Dose of Fentanyl. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratory-testing-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fake-prescription-pills-now-contain (accessed 11.07.2024).
8. CBP: America’s Front Line Against Fentanyl. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/cbp-america-s-front-line-against-fentanyl (accessed 23.04.2024).
9. òCBP Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs. U.S. Customs and Border Security, October 2023. Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Oct/cbp-fentanyl-strategy-fact-sheet.pdf (accessed 15.12.2023).
10. Operation Plaza Spike Fact Sheet. U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/frontline-against-fentanyl/operation-plaza-spike-fact-sheet (accessed 11.12.2024).
11. Northern Border Sees 114% Increase in Illegal Alien Encounters in First Four Months of FY 2024. Federation for American Immigration Reform, 01.04.2024. Available at: https://www.fairus.org/blog/2024/04/01/northern-border-sees-114-increase-illegal-alien-encounters-first-four-months-fy (accessed 12.07.2024).
12. 21st Century Cures Act. National Institute of Health. Available at: https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/cures (accessed 10.11.2024).
13. Companion to the National Drug Control Strategy. December 2016. Available at: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/fy2017_budget_summary-final.pdf (accessed 15.12.2024).
14. Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of Fentanyl-Related Substances in Schedule I. Federal Register, 2018, vol. 83, no. 25, pp. 5188-5192. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-02-06/pdf/2018-02319.pdf (accessed 29.04.2024).
15. Biden-Harris Administration Provides Recommendations to Congress on Reducing Illicit Fentanyl-Related Substances. The White House, 02.09.2021. Available at: https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2021/09/02/biden-harris-administration-provides-recommendations-to-congress-on-reducing-illicit-fentanyl-related-substances/ (accessed 29.04.2024).
16. Fact Sheet: White House Releases 2022 National Drug Control Strategy that Outlines Comprehensive Path Forward to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic. The White House, 21.04.2022. Available at: https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/21/fact-sheet-white-house-releases-2022-national-drug-control-strategy-that-outlines-comprehensive-path-forward-to-address-addiction-and-the-overdose-epidemic/#:~:text=The%20Strategy%20directs%20federal%20agencies%20to%20improve%20cooperation%20across%20all,initiatives%3B%20and%20protect%20individuals%20and (accessed 29.05.2024).
17. Read President Biden’s State of the Union Speech. National Public Radio, 07.02.2023. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1152505680/president-biden-state-of-the-union-speech (accessed 02.02.2024).
18. Biden-Harris Administration Announces Critical More Than $ 1.5 Billion State and Tribal Opioid Response Funding Opportunities. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 02.05.2024. Available at: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/05/02/biden-harris-administration-announces-critical-more-than-1.5-billion-state-tribal-opioid-response-funding-opportunities.html (accessed 01.06.2024).
19. DEA’s Third Annual National Family Summit on Fentanyl Highlights Progress in Fight to Save Lives. United States Drug Enforcement Administration, 15.11.2024. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2024/11/15/deas-third-annual-national-family-summit-fentanyl-highlights-progress (accessed 03.02.2025).
20. 2024 Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. Wave 140 January 2024, Final Topline. January 16–21 2024. Pew Research Center, 29.02.2024. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/PP_2024.02.29_policy-priorities-topline.pdf (accessed 18.04.2024).
21. Swing State Tracking Poll. Morning Consult & Bloomberg. January 16–22 2024. Morning Consult, January 2024. Available at: https://pro-assets.morningconsult.com/wp-uploads/2024/01/Full-Data.pdf (accessed 28.04.2024).
22. 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment. Drug Enforcement Administration, March 2021. Available at: https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/DIR-008-21%202020%20National%20Drug%20Threat%20Assessment_WEB.pdf (accessed 31.05.2024).
23. Justice Department Announces Charges Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Arrests of Executives in Fentanyl Manufacturing. Office of Public Affairs, 23.06.2023. Available at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-against-china-based-chemical-manufacturing-companies (accessed 29.05.2024).
24. Treasury Targets Large Chinese Network of Illicit Drug Producers. U.S. Department of the Treasury, 03.10.2023. Available at: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1779 (accessed 30.05.2024).
25. Entity List Removal. Federal Register, 2023, vol. 88, no. 221, ðð. 80131-80132. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-11-17/pdf/2023-25557.pdf (accessed 25.07.2024).
26. Justice Department Announces Charges Against Sinaloa Cartel’s Global Operation. U.S. Department of Justice, 14.04.2023. Available at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-against-sinaloa-cartel-s-global-operation (accessed 17.05.2024).
No comments