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With Google, Bitcoins, and USPS, Feds realize it's stupid easy to buy fentanyl
A congressional report released Wednesday lays out just how easy it is for Americans to buy the deadly opioid fentanyl from Chinese suppliers online and have it shipped to them via the government's own postal service. The report also lays out just how difficult the practice will be to stop.
After Googling phrases such as "fentanyl for sale," Senate investigators followed up with just six of the online sellers they found. This eventually led them to 500 financial transaction records, accounting for about $766 million worth of fentanyl entering the country and at least seven traceable overdose deaths.
[...] "Thanks to our bipartisan investigation, we now know the depth to which drug traffickers exploit our mail system to ship fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the United States," Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said in a statement. "The federal government can, and must, act to shore up our defenses against this deadly drug and help save lives."
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday January 28 2018, @10:25PM (3 children)
Didn't we figure out in the 1920s that it's better to make a substance legal, and regulated, instead of banning it and lose all control?
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday January 29 2018, @12:23AM (1 child)
Apparently not.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday January 29 2018, @05:42PM
The war on drugs has definitely proven that. The relatively few deaths due to the Opioid Crisis don't compare to the overall numbers of people hurt / killed by drugs. I'm not a fan of recreational illegal drug use, but I'm also not a fan of Alcohol or Tobacco. The war on drugs doesn't seem to be working. Just like Prohibition didn't work. People like their fun stuff, don't take it away, otherwise you're going to have a mess. A well regulated drug trade that made sure kids can't get any would be an acceptable alternative in my opinion. Probably won't happen for another generation or two. Unless someone can convince at least some of the conservatives that Regulated Drugs are the safer way to go about dealing with the situation.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 29 2018, @08:06PM
i don't agree with this either/or proposition. how about the (US) government do what it is actually authorized to do (very few things) and stay out of things that are none of it's business, like telling people what medicine they can use, possess or produce?