War on Drugs

Overdose Deaths from Fentanyl Surge Reaching Record High in US

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2022

Another record has been reached in the United States: “an estimated 105,752 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending October 2021” reports CNN Health. The data was published last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Two-thirds of the deaths were a result of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. “Fentanyl, even at very, very small quantities, is lethal for most people,” said Katherine Keyes, an associate professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health whose research focuses on psychiatric and substance use epidemiology. “It’s just an incredibly potent opioid.”

The CDC data reveals roughly 15,000 more people died last year, a 16% increase in overdose deaths than in the previous year. CNN reports “data first indicated that overdose deaths from any drug surpassed 100,000 annually in data through April 2021. This is the seventh month in a row that estimates for the latest 12-month period have stayed above this level.”

“Overdose deaths from methamphetamine and other psychostimulants increased significantly, up nearly 40% from the year before. They accounted for about 30% of all overdose deaths in the latest 12-month period” adds CNN.

Principal research scientist at the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute wrote in an email to CNN that “reconceptualizing opioid-use disorder as an urgent health emergency is necessary.”

“Mentally and financially depressed people are at increased risk for harms associated with opioids, so addressing wellness, poverty and housing are essential to health overall, including opioid-use disorder.”

Immigration

Biden Administration to allow 40,000 asylum-seekers per month into US with mobile app

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Despite chaos at the border, the Biden administration is still pursuing expansion of a smart phone app which would allow nearly 40,000 asylum-seekers to enter the United States…per month.

“Starting in June, officials will allow more migrants waiting in Mexico to secure an appointment to enter the U.S. through a government phone app known as CBP One, which the Biden administration has transformed into the main gateway to the American asylum system” reports CBS News.

Department of Homeland Security Officials said border agents are preparing to distribute approximately 1,250 appointments per day, or 38,750 per month, to migrants in Mexico. They will then present themselves at ports of entry.

CBS News reports:

The CBP One app allows migrants north of Mexico City to request an appointment to appear at a southern border port of entry, where U.S. officials generally release them with an immigration court hearing in their respective destination. Migrants can fight their deportation in court by seeking asylum.

The app-powered system has been sharply criticized by migrant advocates, who say it penalizes the most destitute migrants who don’t have smartphones or an internet connection. They have also said the app does not allocate nearly enough spots to help the tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Mexico.

However, the app has facilitated “the largest expansion of migrant processing at ports of entry along the southern border in U.S. history” adds CBS News. “Since its use began in January, more than 120,000 migrants have secured appointments to enter the U.S. through CBP One, according to unpublished government figures.”

In addition to the CBP One process and the asylum restriction, the Biden Administration has begun allowing up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the U.S. directly per month if they have American sponsors. In just several months, that program received over 1.5 million applications.