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Part II: Fentanyl invades our communities
I want to continue my thoughts from my previous column about the consequences of our nation’s open border policy. The previous column touched on a rise in crime in some of our state’s rural areas from illegal immigrants. The next subject to address is one of our nation’s most deadly poisons coming through our border, fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid prescribed to treat severe pain. The potency of fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine. It is illegally added to “street drugs” such as heroin, cocaine, and counterfeit pills. Unfortunately, the potency of adding fentanyl to any of these substances can cause death.
In Washington County, our medical examiner tallied nine such incidents of fentanyl-related overdoses this year with four other related cases still pending. The count was 27 cases in 2023 and 36 in 2022. In Waukesha County, 41 cases were reported as deaths involving fentanyl last year. In 2022, there were 55 cases and in 2021, there was an astounding 84 deaths from fentanyl. Truly heartbreaking!
I was surprised to see a mainstream media news program, 60 Minutes, covered this topic last Sunday. They describe fentanyl as the “scourge of our time.” They reported that more than 70,000 Americans lost their lives to this poison last year. Why? It’s cheap to produce, easily smuggled, and highly addictive.
Once again, the avenue for this drug is a weak Biden/Harris border policy. Much of the fentanyl is produced in Mexico by the drug cartels with the assistance of the chemical compounds provided by China. As a student of history, I remember the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain sought global dominance by weakening the Chinese population with cheap, highly addictive drugs, opium. Today is no different. China, with the assistance of the Mexican cartels, is destroying our next generation of Americans and productive members of society with a cheap and highly addictive drug, fentanyl.
The days of experimentation with street drugs is gone. It could end your life by popping a pill. Please be vigilante with your friends and family to be aware of the scourge that is here. It’s incumbent on us all to be aware of this drug and to deter anyone you know or love to not take a random pill at a party or experiment with a drug they think is safe, because fentanyl can easily be added and no one will notice until they are unresponsive and dead.
– Knodl, R-Germantown, represents the 8th Senate District.
