Tag: opioid epidemic

The Trust We Lost: How the DEA Broke Medicine’s Moral Backbone

A Continuation of the Chronic Pain Series

Once upon a time, trust helped define medicine.

When reassurance from your doctor was a hand on your shoulder, not risk; when telling the truth about pain, medication, and the limits of endurance didn’t make you a suspect.

I hate typing this, but those days are gone, and in their place stands a system built on fear, suspicion, and the quiet collapse of compassion.

What you’ll be reading isn’t isolated cries from the dark; these stories are proof of what happens when bureaucracy replaces any judgment from the bedside and when the war on opioids becomes a war on the sick.

Fear Behind the Mask

Incognito, asking to remain anonymous for reasons far too common:

Isn’t that disgusting that we have to live in fear over this? Doctors are suspicious of patients, patients are suspicious of doctors, and pharmacists are suspicious of both. The people who don’t understand will throw “pharma shill” and “junkie” at us for speaking about this very real situation. I have been in this fight for about 10 years, and it keeps getting worse. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but more people need to speak up. 

Incognito’s story stretches back to a childhood illness and a body that betrayed her early, followed by a system that later betrayed her. Nothing major, just pneumonia at six weeks, rheumatic fever at 10, a herniated disc at 14, and years of sciatica after that. She did, through it all, what Americans have been taught to do: work hard, stay tough, and trust that the promise of medicine was solid.

After years of dismissals, she finally received an adhesive arachnoiditis diagnosis, finding herself in the care of one of the few specialists still willing to treat patients targeted by regulators. Even after being hounded for daring to practice compassion, she said, “God sent me an angel.”

The fear she held was vivid.

The addiction industry and the mass tort lawyers, with the help of some NGOs and others, have made torturing us their favorite gig. I was terrified of becoming addicted. I asked my husband to tell me if I showed signs… that never happened.

She did one thing wrong, something that hasn’t even been considered—not once—a crime of trust. That trust, once sacred between doctor and patient, was turned against her.

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US intel contradicts Trump’s claims of fentanyl production in Venezuela: Report

US intelligence has assessed that little to no Fentanyl trafficked to the US is being produced in Venezuela, contradicting recent claims from US President Donald Trump to justify airstrikes on alleged drug boats, Drop Site News (DSN)reported on 24 October.

Trump claimed last month that boats targeted in US airstrikes in the Caribbean were carrying Fentanyl to the US.

“Every boat kills 25,000 on average — some people say more. You see these boats, they’re stacked up with bags of white powder that’s mostly Fentanyl and other drugs, too,” Trump said.

US strikes on vessels operating in international waters in the Caribbean Sea since September have killed at least 32 people.

However, a senior US official directly familiar with the matter stated that Fentanyl is not being produced in Venezuela and sent to the US.

“The official noted that many of the boats targeted for strikes by the Trump administration do not even have the requisite gasoline or motor capacity to reach US waters,” DSN reported.

The lack of intelligence linking Venezuela with fentanyl production is further evidence that the strikes are driven by an effort to topple the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump has used allegations of Venezuelan drug trafficking, including claims without evidence that Maduro is leading a drug cartel, as the justification for overthrowing the socialist government.

In a post on social media, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth equated the alleged threat of Venezuelan drug cartels to that of Al-Qaeda.

“Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,” Hegseth said, adding that “there will be no refuge or forgiveness – only justice.”

His comments come just a few weeks after the founder of Al-Qaeda in Syria, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, met with US officials in New York. Sharaa seized power in Damascus in December, declaring himself president, with US backing.

Two sources familiar with discussions at the White House told DSN that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the driving force behind the regime change effort.

Secretary Rubio has earmarked millions of dollars previously allocated for “pro-democracy” measures in Venezuela to prepare for a war.

The sources cited Rubio’s desire to access Venezuela’s vast oil resources as the reason for seeking regime change.

On Friday, the Pentagon confirmed it was deploying the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Caribbean Sea, adding to the thousands of troops deployed to the Venezuelan coast.

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FBI announces massive indictment against 33 alleged members of drug trafficking organization

The FBI and Justice Department on Friday announced a massive indictment against over two dozen alleged members of the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization in Kensington, Pennsylvania.

The indictment accused 33 alleged gang members of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and dozens of related offenses. The organization was known for peddling and distributing fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation should serve as an example of law enforcement reclaiming violent corridors from gangs, and touted the years of collaboration between the bureau, Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Fox News reported.

“This takedown is how you safeguard American cities from coast to coast,” Patel said. “We have permanently removed a drug trafficking organization off the streets of Philadelphia.” 

The crew allegedly used violence to enforce its territory with shootings, murder and assaults. Despite the alleged use of violence, no substantial murder or shooting charges have been filed so far.

Prosecutors said the organization was allegedly led by 45-year-old Jose Antonio Morales Nieves, of Luquillo, Puerto Rico, known as ‘Flaco,’ Ramon Roman-Montanez, 40, of Philadelphia, known as ‘Viejo,’ and 33-year-old Nancy Rios-Valentin of Philadelphia.

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China Is Smuggling Fentanyl to US Through Venezuela, Trump Says

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Oct. 23 that China is smuggling fentanyl into the United States through Venezuela to bypass U.S. and Mexican controls.

“They are doing that, yes, but they are paying right now 20 percent tariff because of fentanyl,” Trump told reporters.

Trump said it is one of the issues he will bring up with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping at their bilateral meeting next week.

“The first question I’m going to be asking them about is fentanyl,” he said.

Trump said that with the tariffs on China, which will rise by an additional 100 percent on Nov. 1 if no deal is made, the fentanyl operation will no longer be sustainable for China.

“They make $100 million sell[ing] fentanyl into our country … they lose $100 billion with the 20 percent tariff. So it’s not a good business proposition,” Trump said. “They pay a very big penalty for doing that, and I don’t think they want to be doing it.”

Trump’s meeting with Xi will come at the tail end of his Asia tour, for which he is departing on Oct. 24.

Earlier this year, FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers he had spoken to counternarcotics authorities in China and urged them to restrict exports of more fentanyl precursor chemicals.

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security in August added seven chemicals to an export control list, three of them central to producing fentanyl. The restrictions went into effect Sept. 1.

The United States has determined that China is the main supplier of the deadly illicit drug in the United States, and Trump in an executive order on Feb. 1 imposed initial tariffs on China for its “central role” in the fentanyl crisis.

In the order, Trump noted that despite a long history of discussions over the years, Chinese regime officials “have failed to follow through with the decisive actions needed to stem the flow of precursor chemicals.”

According to the order, in addition to subsidizing and incentivizing chemical companies to create and export fentanyl precursors, the regime has also provided “support and safe haven” for transnational criminal organizations that launder the related profits.

“The CCP does not lack the capacity to severely blunt the global illicit opioid epidemic; it simply is unwilling to do so,” the order reads.

In recent weeks, Trump has authorized nine strikes on vessels suspected of trafficking drugs.

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Legalizing Medical Marijuana Leads To ‘Significant Reductions’ In Opioid Prescriptions, Another Study Shows

Medical marijuana legalization is “associated with significant reductions in opioid prescribing,” yet another new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Georgia and University of Colorado analyzed prescription claims for 15 to 20 million insured Americans annually from 2007-2020, comparing the prevalence of opioid prescriptions in states with and without medical cannabis programs in place.

“We find that [medical cannabis laws, or MCLs] are associated with significant reductions in opioid prescribing,” the study, published in the American Journal of Health Economics, found. “Among treated states, the rate of patients receiving opioid prescriptions fell by 16% on average, masking substantial heterogeneity across states, with individual state declines reaching 22%.”

“We also find significant decreases in the intensive margin, both in the daily supply and prescriptions per patient,” the researchers said. “Among subpopulations, decreases were relatively uniform across sex, age, and race/ethnicity, though cancer patients, and non-cancer Black patients experienced a larger reduction (over 20%).”

The study also identified increases in the frequency of use of NSAID pain medications, “suggesting that MCLs are associated with substitution away from opioids toward safer alternatives.”

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US Bombs Another Boat Off the Coast of Venezuela, Trump Claims Six ‘Narcoterrorists’ Killed

The US military has bombed another boat off the coast of Venezuela, according to a statement from President Trump, who claimed, without providing evidence, that the vessel was carrying drugs.

The president also claimed that the strike killed “six male narcoterrorists,” bringing the total number of people extrajudicially executed by the US military since the bombing campaign started on September 2 to 27. The Trump administration has not presented any evidence to Congress to back up its allegations that the boats it has been bombing were carrying drugs or that the victims were “narcoterrorists,” a term used to justify the killings.

“Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War, ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route. The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!” he added.

The president’s post included a video that appeared to show a boat that wasn’t moving getting struck with a missile, then exploding.

The latest US strike on a boat in the Caribbean comes amid reports that the Trump administration is considering bombing Venezuela as part of an effort to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The administration is using drug trafficking allegations as a pretext to push for regime change in the country and could potentially take military action directly against Maduro.

In response to the pressure, Maduro and his top officials have denied the drug trafficking allegations by pointing to data that shows the majority of the cocaine that is produced in Colombia doesn’t go through Venezuela. President Trump has framed the military campaign in the region as a response to overdose deaths in the US due to fentanyl, but fentanyl isn’t produced in Venezuela, and it does not go through the country on its way to the US.

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Study: Recreational Marijuana Legalization Linked to Fewer Opioid Overdose Deaths

Using event studies and a two-way fixed-effects, difference-in-differences approach modeled on the work of Callaway and Sant’Anna, the study found a consistent negative relationship between legal marijuana markets and opioid mortality. According to the data, recreational legalization is associated with a reduction of about 3.5 opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 people.

The study was conducted by researchers from West Virginia University, Angelo State University, New Mexico State University, and the American Institute for Economic Research

The researchers also discovered that states that adopted legalization earlier tended to see stronger declines in overdose deaths compared to later-adopting states. The findings held up through numerous robustness checks, suggesting a stable association rather than a temporary or coincidental effect.

These results add to a growing body of research suggesting that marijuana access may play a role in reducing reliance on opioids, potentially informing future public health and drug policy decisions. The authors note that their work highlights the importance of considering marijuana laws as part of a broader strategy for addressing the opioid epidemic.

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Report: PA Dem House Candidate Funneled Money Meant to Help Recovering Opioid Addicts to Bring Kids ‘LGBTQ+ Youth’ Center Offering ‘Medical Transition’ Seminars

According to a disturbing report from the Washington Free Beacon,  Democratic House candidate in Pennsylvania, Bob Harvie, funneled money away meant to help recovering opioid addicts and instead sent them to push an LGBTQ agenda.

According to the report, the funds went to transport minors to an “LGBTQ-youth” center that offers “medical transition” seminars for kids as young as 14.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

The Bucks County, Pa., Board of Commissioners, which Harvie chairs, approved a $13,500-grant in December to Planned Parenthood Keystone for “Expanding Services and Transportation” to the Rainbow Room, a local center that caters to gay and trans youth. The grant was used to transport high school students to Rainbow Room functions, the Delaware Valley Journal reported earlier this year. Its funding came from the county’s Opioid Settlement Fund, which is due to receive $70 million from drug distributors and pharmacy chains over the next 18 years.

Rainbow Room functions include seminars like “SEX ED NIGHT / M*STURB*TION,” which the center held in May 2024. A pamphlet advertising the event shows a photo of a woman’s hand massaging a watermelon designed to represent the female anatomy. In 2023, the Rainbow Room hosted a “Queer Prom,” where attendees as young as 13 were given goody bags with condoms, lubricant, and dental dams, used to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases during oral sex.

Earlier this week, meanwhile, the center held a “translating transition” seminar meant to teach kids as young as 14 “the basics of transgender identities, social transition, medical transition, and more!” In 2020, it hosted representatives of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Gender Clinic to discuss “transition issues for trans kids.” The hospital has faced intense scrutiny for providing hormone treatments like puberty blockers to young trans children, and for performing “gender-reassignment” procedures, more commonly known as sex-change operations.

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Trump Admin Expands Targets Across Global Narco Networks 

President Trump’s “America First” strategy – also described as “Hemispheric Defense” and alignes with the century-long Monroe Doctrine of the early 1800s – has expanded through increased border security, elevated pressure on allies such as Canada and Mexico, punitive measures against adversaries including China, Venezuela, Colombia, and Afghanistan, and declaring fentanyl crisis as well as both a public health crisis and national security threat, while also expanding list of nations designated as major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries. 

A White House statement to begin the week announced that the Trump administration invoked Section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) to designate Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela as major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries.

Trump’s new designation for the countries listed above provides the administration with additional leverage, including the ability to impose severe consequences on foreign assistance programs if those governments fail to meet counterdrug obligations.

In effect, the designation gives Trump another bold tool to bring into line countries it views as complicit in the global drug trade network with drugs that eventually end up on the streets of U.S. cities, which have fueled an overdose crisis killing more than 100,000 Americans annually.

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US Official Warns Of New Deadly Synthetic Opioid From China

U.S. authorities are warning of a new synthetic opioid from China that can be up to 50 times more potent than fentanyl.

Nitazenes pose an emerging threat as they are more resistant to naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses. They are often mixed with other drugs and delivered in the form of counterfeit pills mimicking drugs such as Xanax or Percocet, according to authorities.

Frank Tarentino, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division, said that the presence of nitazenes coming from China has been increasingly prevalent on the illicit drug scene.

“Here in the United States, we have found it in heroin, methamphetamine, in some cases fentanyl, and more alarmingly, we have now seen it pressed into pills,” he said in a Sept. 10 interview with NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media outlet.

“What we have seen is that these cartels, these transnational criminal organizations that are operating on a global scale, are intentionally lacing their drugs with fentanyl and now nitazenes to increase the high, to increase the addiction, to make more money.”

Tarantino said that traffickers are selling counterfeit prescription drugs such as oxycodone on the streets, online, or on social media. He warned that the only safe place to buy prescription drugs is through a legitimate pharmacy.

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