It’s definitely time to seriously reexamine America’s decades-long war on drugs.     

On February 1, a White House “fact sheet” stated: “PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA”:  

“The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

“Until the crisis is alleviated, President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.”

According to a November 27 story in The New Republic, “Trump Team is Having a Terrifying Debate on How to Invade Mexico.” Specifically:

“Trump has reportedly been gathering “battle plans” to attack drug cartels in Mexico since early 2023, with or without Mexico’s permission….

“One source close to Trump told Rolling Stone about a plan for a ‘soft’ invasion of the country, in which U.S. special forces would assassinate cartel leaders covertly, an idea Trump was in favor of earlier this year.”

Among the weapons Trump could hurl at Mexico:

• Drone strikes and bombings against drug labs;
• Sending military advisers to train the Mexican police and military;
• Sending “kill teams” after drug lords;
• Waging cyberwarfare against drug cartels. 

Donald Trump

Yet, no matter what the Trump administration does, America’s drug epidemic will remain an entirely American creation. 

Today, the dangers of drug-abuse are available to anyone who wants to discover them. Yet people continue to play Russian Roulette by taking “recreational” drugs that can leave them sickened or dead. 

One “recreational” drug is Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid approved by the Food and Drug Administration to relieve pain. It’s approximately 100% more potent than morphine and 50% more potent than heroin.

“One pill. One time. It can kill you,” said Brian Clark, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Francisco office. “Fentanyl is without a doubt the deadliest threat that we’ve ever faced in this country.” 

Another such drug is Krokodil (pronounced “crocodile”), an injectable opioid derivative. It’s made from over-the-counter codeine medicine mixed with ethanol, gasoline, red phosphorus, iodine, hydrochloric acid and paint thinner. 

It can produce gangrenous inflammations at the injection site, which resemble the scales of a crocodile. The skin can deteriorate so severely that flesh can fall from bone, producing a “zombie-like” appearance.

Effects of Krokodil

Yet drug dealers face no shortage of customers lining up to buy it.

In short: No amount of publicity about the dangers of illicit drug-abuse will stop those looking for a quick “high” from thumbing their nose at the law—and their own safety.

And no matter how many low-level drug dealers are arrested, others quickly take their places. The profits are simply too great—especially for those who lack education or incentive to attain professional employment.

And no sooner does a cartel kingpin get imprisoned or killed than his place is taken by one or more successors.

A classic example of this: Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as “El Chapo.” As the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, he reigned as one of the most powerful criminal kingpins in Mexico. His enterprise spanned continents and triggered waves of bloodshed throughout Mexico.

Joaquín Archivaldo “El Chapo” Guzmán

In 2016, Mexican authorities arrested him. With a history of two escapes from Mexican prisons, Guzmán was extradited to the United States the following year.

On February 12, 2019, a jury found him guilty on 12 counts, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, international distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs, and use of firearms.

He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years.

As of 2025, the Sinaloa Cartel remains Mexico’s most dominant drug cartel. It’s now headed by Ismael Zambada García and Guzmán’s sons, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán and Ivan Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar.

So: What to do? 

Aim to protect drug-avoiding people from druggies.

• Recognize that America’s drug epidemic is caused by Americans’ insatiable demand for drugs.  
• Recognize that so long as demand persists, suppliers will be eager to fill it. 
• Allow druggies to endanger themselves but not others—the way smokers are allowed to get cancer and emphysema but not give it to nonsmokers.
• Limit the types of places where druggies are allowed to drug up—such as their own homes.
• Druggies involved in auto accidents should be presumed guilty unless they can prove otherwise.
• Druggies should be banned from employment in transportation industries—as cab drivers, pilots, bus drivers.
• If convicted of causing accidents, they should face lengthy mandatory prison terms.
• Ban open-air drug markets.
• Don’t allow druggies who are charged with crimes like burglary or robbery to cite their addiction as a defense.

Quit trying to protect self-destructive people from themselves. 

• Stop providing Naloxone to opioid addicts when they overdose.
• Stop providing free needles to heroin users.
• Stop providing welfare and free housing to known drug addicts.
• Parents should tell their teenagers: “If you get arrested for drugs, don’t expect me to bail you out or pay for treatment. We can’t afford it.”
• If their teens are arrested as druggies, parents should say: “You’re on your own.”