Fentanyl Crisis Can Be Resolved By Eliminating Illegal Cannabis Market Says Oklahoma AG

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) believes that the ever-growing and deadly fentanyl problem could be controlled by seizing illegal cannabis operators.

“It is coming up from Mexico, not that Mexicans are bringing it. It’s Chinese nationals,” Drummond told Fox 23 News.

People behind illicit marijuana operations, says Drumond, are often dealing other illegal drugs and substances, such as fentanyl.

This synthetic opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin, is now the No. 1 cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 49. It kills nearly 200 Americans per day. Of the estimated 107,622 deadly drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2021, two-thirds were from fentanyl.

“You have this perfect storm where we created this mechanism. If lack of enforcement of illegal grows it is now blessed to all friends and family of illegal operators that have entered our state,” Drummond said.

His take is in line with the recent news of a high school student collapsing suddenly after using a cannabis vape pen police suspected was laced with fentanyl. The school nurse quickly administered the opioid antidote Narcan, saving the teen’s life.

Last week, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (OBN) confirmed their suspicions that there are around 2,000 potentially illegal medical marijuana licenses in the state. Agency spokesman, Mark Woodward said the licenses could have been obtained by fraud or are being used to cover illicit activities such as selling marijuana on the black market, reported Tulsa World.

According to Drummond, eliminating the black cannabis market is a good start to resolving the fentanyl problem, getting it off the streets and reducing the number of overdose deaths.

“If we look at it [from] a macro perspective, fentanyl has been around but now, we have illegal grow operations of marijuana and then a distribution system that the illegal operators have set up. We have organized crime already breaking the law in Oklahoma…why not add fentanyl and other opioids, slave trafficking, and sex trafficking? We have the distribution. Oklahoma is open for business. I intend to close it,” Drummond said.

Photo: Courtesy of Joaquin Corbalan P on Shutterstock