(RightIsRight.co) – The long-standing national emergency opioid crisis showed signs of change, as a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed an 18% decline in opioid overdose deaths.
This significant drop translates to approximately 70,655 deaths for the year ending June 2024, compared to the alarming peak of over 86,000 deaths last summer under Biden’s watch.
President-elect Donald Trump, a staunch defender of American values and border security, has made addressing the drug crisis a cornerstone of his campaign.
“Under Kamala, drug overdose deaths are up 18%. But we’re going to stop the scourge,” Trump said last week, speaking to the Fraternal Order of Police in North Carolina.
Trump’s approach focuses on real solutions, including forced treatment for homeless addicts and tougher penalties for drug dealers.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s self-congratulatory stance on this issue is both premature and misguided.
Dr. Rahul Gupta from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy boasted, “Over the past four years, the Administration has taken unprecedented action to tackle this crisis head-on, and today’s data shows the largest decrease in overdose deaths on record.”
However, this statement conveniently ignores the fact that current overdose rates remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, which were under 50,000 annually.
While Trump’s statement highlights the critical link between weak border policies and the drug epidemic ravaging the country, the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to secure southern borders has allowed deadly drugs like fentanyl to enter America.
While the CDC report shows some progress, it is essential to note that several Western states, including Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, continue to experience high overdose rates.
The availability of naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, has increased significantly and likely contributed to the decline in deaths.
Nevertheless, this is merely a band-aid solution that fails to address the root cause of the problem: the influx of illegal drugs across our borders.
Experts suggested that changes in the illegal drug supply may be a leading factor in the decline of overdose deaths.
Yet, this shift could be temporary, and without strong border control and law enforcement measures, drug cartels will continue to find new ways to exploit the nation’s vulnerabilities.
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