Trump Declares Fentanyl WMD, Not Acknowledging US Addiction Epidemic
Donald Trump announced his plan to classify fentanyl as a 'weapon of mass destruction' to 'ratchet up pressure on Latin America over drug trafficking.' This framing conveniently sidesteps the U.S.'s role in its own opioid crisis, which began with pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma knowingly pushing highly addictive painkillers onto the American public for massive profit. The 'War on
Drugs' playbook, now rebranded as a 'WMD' response, ignores the devastating impact of unregulated pharmaceutical sales and inadequate public health infrastructure at home. One might wonder if the next step is to initiate 'WMD' inspections in American medicine cabinets. The focus on external threats distracts from a clear domestic failure to address addiction holistically, preferring instead to
militarize a public health issue. It’s easier to threaten a continent than to hold Big Pharma accountable or invest in addiction treatment and mental health.