Editorial | Solutions to the US opioid crisis mostly lie at home, not abroad
- By using the highly addictive synthetic painkiller fentanyl as an excuse to impose tariffs and sanctions against China avoids the root of the problem
Trump last month accused China of failing to live up to promises to curb flows of the drug, one reason for escalating the trade war and threatening new tariffs. Beijing imposed stricter controls on fentanyl on May 1, although not the chemicals used to make it. The huge potential profits in the US incentivise illegal production, either in China or by shipping chemicals to a third country for production. But while targeting trafficking is one way of tackling the problem, it is only a small part. The focus should be on fighting addiction through a strategy to reduce and quell the heavy demand in the US for fentanyl and other opioid painkillers.
Fentanyl is used to treat severe pain, usually that of patients with terminal cancer. But it is also highly addictive. Too much causes a euphoric high, giving it appeal as an illicit drug; it is even stronger than the notorious narcotic, heroin. Although blamed for more than 28,400 overdose deaths in the US in 2017, it is only one of numerous painkillers, prescription ones among them, behind the country’s opioid crisis. Such addiction is not Beijing’s fault. To blame are pharmaceutical companies that have aggressive marketing campaigns or make false claims, doctors who too easily give in to patients’ demands or overprescribe, and a medical system that has questionable guidelines on pain management.
An Oklahoma judge’s ruling holds hope; Johnson & Johnson, which sells prescription opioids and provides ingredients for other drug companies, was last month fined US$572 million for deceptive marketing and contributing to the state’s crisis. US drug maker Purdue Pharma, struggling to deal with thousands of opioid-related lawsuits, last week also filed for bankruptcy protection. At home is where Trump needs to be putting his energies, not blaming China.