Fentanyl Overdose Death Rate Now Hits Blacks Hardest

The record Opioid overdose death rate’s now even higher for US blacks than whites as WSJ says “fentanyl’s spread & pandemic’s destabilizing effects have accelerated fatal drug overdoses in the more vulnerable communities.” And, esp those targeted by its pushers?

Of course, “there are legitimate forms of fentanyl prescribed by medical pros to treat pain.” But, federal authorities say “the main version wreaking havoc in the US is illicitly made by Mexican cartels & smuggled into the US.” Medical experts remind fentanyl is “50 times more potent than heroin” & has from the get go obvious potential for killing users, regardless of one’s color. The CDC’s latest estimate is that 104K overdose deaths have occurred in the USA during the last 12 months alone.

Yet, the scourge is hitting more blacks for the first time since 1999, the experts say, because those folks are statistically more likely to “have uneven access to healthcare, including effective drug treatment.” Poorer blacks, it’s suggested, are also more likely to get “contaminated” fentanyl and/or use it in combination with other stimulants. Yet, recall, too, that blacks in the inner cities’ impoverished areas have historically been the easiest targets for the drug peddlers & gangs. Recall the infamous line by Don Zaluchi in The Godfather weighing pros/cons of the New York mafia getting a piece of what was then a new & growing drug trade: “I don’t want it near schools! I don’t want it sold to children! That’s familia. In my city, we would keep the traffic to the dark people …” The racist slur goes on to mention how the Don thinks it’s up to his victims to decide whether or not to “lose their souls.” Was there ever a more heartless statement? Or, better argument for enforcing the Golden Rule?

Davd Soul