Source: People's Daily
Recently, a speedboat unloaded 32 tons of drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, at a port in Florida. It is reported that if the drug flows into the black market, it will be worth more than $1 billion.
Xinhua News Agency
Core Reading
US is the world's largest drug consumer. Data shows that more than 50 million Americans have used drugs or abused psychotropic drugs in the past year. Analysts believe that the proliferation of drugs in the United States is a reflection of deep social problems and the result of the joint action of multiple factors including political system, economic interests, and social culture.
The drug problem in the United States is showing an intensified trend. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data shows that the number of deaths from excessive drug use in the United States is growing rapidly. Between September 2020 and September 2021, about 104,000 Americans died of drug use, compared with 52,000 in 2015. A new study published in the medical journal The Lancet predicts that 1.2 million people in the United States may die from drug overdose in the next 10 years.
Some U.S. lawmakers -
"Law on legalizing marijuana across the United States may cause a disaster", leading to the legalization of activities conducted by international drug trafficking groups
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on April 1 to legalize marijuana across the United States and to cancel long-term criminal penalties for those who own or distribute marijuana. Next, the U.S. Senate will review and vote on the bill. Public opinion believes that the bill will face many obstacles in the end as a law, but the move by the House of Representatives means that the United States has taken another key step towards the legalization of marijuana.
In recent years, the United States has gone further and further on the road to promoting the legalization and decriminalization of drugs. As of June 2021, 18 states in the United States have legalized non-medical marijuana, and another 13 have reduced criminal penalties for non-medical marijuana. In February 2021, Oregon became the first state in the United States to possess "hard drugs" such as heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, etc., and people's possession of less than 1 gram of heroin or ecstasy and less than 2 grams of cocaine or methamphetamine will no longer be considered a crime, and will be replaced by a $100 fine or health assessment. Some drug users moved to Oregon as a result to avoid legal penalties.
In November 2021, New York City became the first city in the United States to announce the establishment of a "drug safety consumption place", that is, to allow "people use drugs under the supervision and guidance of professional staff." In July 2021, Rhode Island passed a bill that allows drug users to use illegal drugs and drugs under the guidance of designated places and medical staff. In October, it announced that it would set up the first "drug injection center" in the United States. It is reported that many places such as Massachusetts , California are also considering similar practices. US Department of Health Secretary Becerra stated that federal government departments will not obstruct similar plans in various states.
US Forbes magazine published an article saying that some US lawmakers pointed out that "legislation to legalize marijuana across the United States may cause a disaster", leading to the legalization of activities carried out by international drug trafficking groups. Many experts believe that after the legalization of marijuana, a more confusing entry-level drug, is more likely to be obtained and consumed by adolescents, making it easier for drug addiction and cause serious social problems.
Associate Professor Katherine Case of Columbia University School of Public Health -
"The trend of intensifying drug proliferation in the United States is difficult to reverse", because "drug sales network and addiction have become part of the community, and this will not disappear overnight"
"The drug problem in the United States is developing in the wrong direction." CNN article pointed out. "The intensification of drug proliferation in the United States is hard to reverse," said Katherine Case, an associate professor at Columbia University's School of Public Health. "The trend of intensifying drug proliferation in the United States is difficult to reverse," because "drug sales networks and addiction have become part of the community and this will not disappear overnight." She noted that 10 years ago, non-medical use marijuana was illegal in all 50 states, but now more and more states are approving individuals to use marijuana for “recreational purposes.”Some regions have also paid back drug addiction treatment through drug fines, and even increased fiscal revenue through drug legalization.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, of about 280 million Americans aged 12 and older, 31.9 million have used drugs or abused psychotropic drugs in the past 30 days, and more than 50 million have used drugs or abused psychotropic drugs in the past year.
The US " Wall Street Journal " reported that the number of office workers in the United States who tested positive for urine in drugs hit a record high in 20 years, an increase of more than 8% from 2020. Due to labor shortage, employers have to lower the physical examination standards for recruiting workers, and this phenomenon will exist for a long time.
"The problem of drug proliferation in the United States is more deadly than ever." CNN reported that in addition to traditional drugs such as marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, new drugs with prescription opioids as the raw materials are becoming popular. Data shows that in 2020, more than 60% of cases of overdose deaths were related to the opioid fentanyl. Drug dealers mix traditional drugs with fentanyl to make new drugs with stronger toxicity and greater harm, exacerbating the spread of drugs.
Brookings Institution Researcher Carol Graham -
includes "desperate deaths" caused by excessive drug use in the United States. "This is not only a health crisis, but also a serious social crisis."
The proliferation of drugs in the United States has brought about a series of social problems, such as family crises, violent crimes, intensified intergenerational poverty, aggravated racial discrimination, and psychological trauma of children, which seriously impacted American society and became an incurable "American disease". At present, the COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, causing unemployment, life difficulties, mental trauma, social isolation and other phenomena, further aggravating the problem of drug addiction.
Research by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States shows that since 1971, the United States has spent $1 trillion on combating drug crimes. The federal and state governments of the United States have also claimed to strictly control the drug problem, but under the lobbying of various interest groups, they have actually failed to take substantial measures. The degree of drug legalization in the United States is gradually deepening, and drug abuse has increased.
Experts point out that the proliferation of drugs in the United States is a reflection of deep social problems and the result of the joint action of multiple factors including political system, economic interests, and social culture. At the institutional level, the U.S. federal states have their own legislative bodies, and the criminal and civil and commercial legislative powers basically belong to each state.
The influence of interest groups cannot be underestimated. According to US media reports, large American pharmaceutical companies have invested a lot of money to fund some experts and associations to sell the "opioid harmless theory", encourage pharmacies to vigorously sell, doctors to prescribe indiscriminately, and promote the legalization of drugs. Some patients develop drug addiction without their knowledge. According to the public data analysis of the U.S. Senate, more than 20 cannabis companies spent as much as $4.28 million in 2021. Forbes magazine reported that legal sales of marijuana in the United States reached a record $17.5 billion in 2020, a surge of 46% from 2019. "We don't need to convince people to believe in marijuana, what we need is to convince them to buy legally," said Cory Rothschild, vice president of a cannabis business in the United States. "What we need is to convince them to buy legally." Bobby Mukamara, chairman of the board of directors of the American Medical Association, called on the U.S. government to take action to modify relevant regulations that lead to drug abuse, "otherwise, more people will die and more families will suffer from avoidable tragedies."
Brookings Institutional Researcher Carol Graham pointed out that "desperate deaths" caused by excessive drug use are increasing in the United States, "this is not only a health crisis, but also a serious social crisis."
(This newspaper, Washington, April 5)
