Letters to the Editor

Letter: Why aren’t we talking about U.S. fentanyl demand?

A man prepares to smoke fentanyl on a park bench in downtown Portland, Ore., on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP, File)

Fentanyl being brought into the U.S. is a huge problem. But would it be an issue if there were no demand? I’ve yet to see an acknowledgment that the reason it’s an issue is that people want it. There is apparently a huge market for illegal drugs. If there were no demand for opiates, if no one bought them, there would be no reason for smuggling to occur. Politicians seem to react as if Americans are being forced into illegal fentanyl use. That’s not the case. Sellers know opiates will sell. How can it be stopped until the market no longer exists? Remove the market, the problem goes away. Illegal drugs are brought into the United States because there is a market for them. Until U.S. citizens stop demanding illegal drugs, they will always be a problem. No one is forcing them on us.

— Barbara Roberts, Anchorage

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