The end of 2022 brought news from the scientific community. One is being hailed as a "game changer" by scientists. They claim to have developed a "vaccine" that "could block fentanyl’s ability to enter a person’s brain and prevent the person from feeling a euphoric 'high.'” Thus, a person's motivation to ingest or otherwise consume fentanyl might be diminished or eliminated. There are few among us that fail to recognize the dangers of fentanyl in 2022.
There is an enormous supply of this drug available in the United States, and it appears to come mostly from Mexico. Kill Every American, December 2022. Overdose in the News (June 2022); Drugs and Overdose (January 2022); Fentanyl is Killing Still (November 2021). I have been writing about drug overdose for many years, and fentanyl for several. Like a Broken (Drug-death) Record (January 2017). People are dying from opioids, and there has been significant proof that many start their path to perdition with a simple prescription from a doctor or dentist.
There is perhaps hope. USNews reported in November 2022 that there is evidence of a downward trend. It notes that only 107,000 Americans died of overdose in a twelve-month period ending last June (sounds like an examination over a period similar to a fiscal year). We are celebrating that only 107,000 died. About half of that died in the Vietnam conflict over almost 20 years. I have made similar comparisons in the past, to football stadium capacities, towns, and more. You can celebrate all you care to, 107,000 is a lot of people, period. That volume in a year is pathetic. That number from voluntary use of any substance is simply beyond comprehension.
The researchers say this problem is "plaguing society." That sounds bad, but there were less than 100 cases of the plague last year. Hardly a comparison. One might conclude Fentanyl is worse than a plague.
The researchers say that the problem, of which fentanyl is a part, is "opioid misuse.” The distribution of fentanyl is complex. There are people who choose to consume it, others who are merely exposed to it, and some who receive it surreptitiously. The researchers say that bad people are putting fentanyl in "other street drugs and fake prescription pills," because "fentanyl produces a cheap high." Perhaps, you can argue against a bargain?
For years, the focus has been on prevention and treatment. We spend a significant amount of government money on Naxalone each year. That does nothing to prevent the use of the drugs, but can be administered to diminish or eliminate the threat of overdose after someone is exposed.
The new "vaccine . . . .could help prevent fentanyl from entering a person’s brain and giving them a high." The vaccine would prevent fentanyl from having the effect that is purportedly driving consumption. Make a note there that it would seem this relates to knowing and purposeful consumption. For those who are consuming other drugs or are inadvertently exposed, there may be no benefit from this "game changer" other than perhaps broadly diminishing the motivation of those who manufacture, import from Mexico, and distribute.
This vaccine is directed at those who are struggling with addiction. The researchers hope to break this cycle of addiction in which "about 80% of those dependent on opioids suffer a relapse." That euphoric high is apparently quite a draw. The bad news is that this is "specific to fentanyl and a fentanyl derivative." The vaccine does not appear to offer solace to those who seek their high elsewhere.
There may be hope. The overdose death rate may in fact continue to decline, but the path to zero is long. The help with fentanyl addicts from such a vaccine may help, but one may wonder if those freed from it will simply turn to something else. The threat to society from inadvertent exposure to fentanyl will not change from such an advance. In the end, there is more needed.
The wonder of science is a draw and perhaps a solace. But, people are dying. How does America address that in a broad context? How do we stop the supply of this plague? How do we stop the demand for drugs, and high beyond the narrow focus of fentanyl? How will we fight the next drug du jour if in fact this one is marginalized by a vaccine that may be perhaps helpful primarily to people who intend to consume it?
What is the real problem(s) that is driving the seemingly insatiable desire to be high?
