More Lethal Drugs Drive More Homeless

If anyone still has illusions about the No. 1 cause of homelessness being drug addiction, consider Fox News report on how “Fentanyl & a stronger form of meth [is] now driving [addictions &] American homeless crisis.”

As Fox suggests, even more highly addictive drugs have pushed users into debilitating addiction & out onto the streets, only with the compounding mental illness that renders them unable to function in society. As opioid expert & author Sam Quinones, told the Intelligencer, “These two drugs come in such enormous quantities & have such staggering potency that they do the job far more masterfully than drugs have done it before … So, you have methamphetamine that is driving people to homelessness, and becoming incoherent and irrational and delusional and paranoid.”

According to a 2022 analysis by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the US homeless population fell from a high of 647K in 2007 to 550K in 2016. But, the homeless population since has risen to 580K 2020. And, there’s no reason to believe the 2007 record hasn’t been reached again if not exceeded since “shelters across the US report a tripling of their populations over the last year while reports of large homeless encampments springing up in major cities from coast-to-coast have dominated headlines.” Perhaps the real Q is “What kind of a society has policies & laws that exacerbate if not fail to address this travesty?” Is there any libertarian who still wants to argue the case for legalization of all drugs?

Davd Soul