Mar 27, 2024
“Sen. Chuck Schumer warns drug dealers are pushing rainbow fentanyl to children,” CBS News cries. “'It's very challenging': Inside the fentanyl fight at the border,” ABC News reports. “The hard-drug decriminalization disaster,” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens laments.
In recent years,
we’ve been warned about the growing threat of hyperpotent street
drugs, particularly opioids. Fentanyl is disguised as Halloween
candy to appeal to children. US Border Patrol doesn’t have enough
resources to keep up with drug screenings. Efforts to decriminalize
drug use and possession are causing chaos and suffering on our
streets.
The dangers of drugs like fentanyl are, of course, very real, and concerns about them are certainly legitimate. But too often, media framings don’t reflect genuine concerns. Rather than offering urgent solutions to help those who are truly struggling-like reduced penalties, or stable housing and healthcare–media, alongside policymakers, consistently promote the same old carceral logic of the Nixon-era War on Drugs, turning a true public-health crisis into an opportunity to increase arrests and policing in general.
On this episode, we look at the War on
Drugs 2.0: This Time It’s Different We Promise, and how, despite
lofty liberal rhetoric about how the War on Drugs has been cruel
and counterproductive, media and elected officials are doubling
down on fear-mongering, stigmatization, and severe prison and
punishment.
Our guest is Emily Kaltenbach.