OCTOBER 6, 2023 ADDICTION Fentanyl, Fenta-not!!!! This article is an ode to the countless beautiful souls lost to the menacing grip of the fentanyl opioid epidemic that casts its shadow not only over our beloved city, wonderful state and great nation, but also around the globe. This includes the young child in New York who recently passed. Drug addiction, in its myriad colors and forms, plagues our society. However, within this piece, my focus rests on fentanyl — a formidable foe that has recently emerged to strike indiscriminately at lives from all walks of life. Let us start at the genesis — opioids derived from the poppy flower. These blossoms flourish in temperate regions such as Afghanistan, the Golden Triangle, Turkey, India, Mexico and parts of the Middle East. They serve both legitimate medical and illicit purposes, fueling the clandestine drug trade. Mexican opium transmutes into the infamous black tar heroin, while Afghan opium becomes Afghani heroin also known as tan, brown, cement or dog food, finding its way to the shores of the United States, where the concoctions receive their final touches through cutting agents. These agents augment the drug's weight and profitability for the dealers — akin to a risky financial investment known as "flipping." Amidst the illegal trade, the raw poppy flower is scored and sliced, to MOHAMMED ALMUSTAPHA Groundcover contributor produce a sap that is dried into a potent paste, later transformed into various opiate constituents like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone and heroin. This intoxicating brew is reminiscent of the opium dens frequented by Chinese migrants who built the railroads in days gone by. In the legitimate medical arena, the entire poppy flower is harvested, extracting other opiate alkaloids for medicinal purposes, akin to the opioid-laden medications that have controversially made headlines in recent times. You may wonder, why our bodies even harbor receptors for these active opioids. The answer lies within our own biological marvel — we produce our own opioids — endorphins — under times of stress. These endorphins, akin to the euphoria induced by hot food or intense exercise, act as natural pain suppressants. I can attest to the allure of euphoria that temporarily eradicated my pain, mental and emotional alike, through my emergency room visits. But let me be clear; this is no endorsement of such destructive paths. Drugs may offer a temporary escape, but true solace and growth come from healthier avenues. So, what drives the haunting spike in overdoses we witness today? Fentanyl, an opioid, not an opiate, lies at the epicenter of this crisis. Unlike opiates sourced from opium sap, opioids are synthetic creations developed in laboratories. Methadone, an iconic example, birthed by German Nazi scientists during World War II, aimed to replicate opiate-like pain relief. Suboxone, too, plays a pivotal role in treating substance addiction, sparing users the throes of severe withdrawal without inducing euphoria. Yet, it is fentanyl that commands our gravest concern. This man-made chemical possesses unthinkable potency, requiring minuscule quantities to deliver devastatingly lethal blows. A kilogram of fentanyl, a fraction of what one might expect, can extinguish half a million lives — echoing horrors of nuclear proportions. My heart aches for those ensnared in the desperate cycle of illegal drug use, gambling their lives against this formidable adversary. The route of fentanyl's arrival is a troubling tale of unscrupulous intentions. To gain insight into this phenomenon, let us revisit history — the opium wars. Centuries ago, when the British Empire reigned supreme, they sought vengeance on China for restricting their trading privileges. The response? A calculated campaign to cultivate poppies on Indian fields, saturating the Chinese market with opium — a painful chapter that mirrors today's fentanyl wars. In light of all this, I implore you to remember — life's beauty transcends the pursuit of momentary serenity through substances. Better ways to heal and grow exist. Yet, for those whose lives intertwine with drug users, I advocate for harm reduction. Obtain harm reduction kits, embracing clean needles, alcohol pads and needle filters, assuring safe usage and preventing further harm. Consider the path of methadone clinics or Suboxone for controlled maintenance, devoid of harmful highs, instead focusing on rebuilding life's splendor. I beseech all to appreciate the gravity of this matter. Fentanyl's wrath disregards the sanctity of life and family bonds. The ruthless drug dealer is blind to the lives shattered in his wake, fixated solely on his next fortune. In closing, I leave you with peace. GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 DESMOND from page 6 arguments to disparage people?” But you know, my job is to write about things honestly. Lorraine certainly didn’t apologize for what she did. And she paid for it. She was hitting up food pantries for the rest of the month. She was living so far below the poverty line that even if she had scrimped and saved a third of her income — which would be astounding — then she could maybe buy a bicycle at the end of the year. Even that would come at the cost of going without things like heat or medicine. Lorraine helped me see that folks like her are not in poverty because of the decisions they’ve made but rather the decisions they’ve made are conditioned and steered by their poverty. We see this in the research on raising the minimum wage. When we raise the minimum wage, you get all these benefits. People stop smoking and cases of child neglect go down. Babies are born healthier because the stress of poverty is relieved. The debates about minimum wage are often only focused on one macroeconomic question, “If we raise the minimum wage will it cost us jobs?” The book addresses that, but I also want us to ask another question, “If we don’t pay more, then what do we cost people?” The time you spent with Julio illustrates that cost. The moment when his younger brother offered to pay for an hour of his time just to play with him was heartbreaking. It’s hard to believe he balanced two fulltime jobs paying minimum wage. How did that impact him? Desmond: Julio told me he felt like a zombie. He could barely sleep, you know, and collapsed in the aisles of the grocery store when he was 24-yearsold. But he also got politically involved after that. When he went to his first rally in his McDonald’s uniform, he was really scared. He thought that he might lose his job. But he saw a lot of folks that looked like him. They were fighting for bigger wages, too. For him, it felt like church, and he was a deeply faithful person. He told me he believed in both God and politics. Joining that movement gave him not only a real, tangible victory but also gave him an identity and a community as well. Let’s end on the cost of making a huge dent in poverty and alleviating homelessness in America. You estimated a figure of $177 billion to really make a difference. What would you say to someone who reads that number and has sticker shock? Desmond: The reason I put that number in the book is to show us how incredibly attainable it is. If you look at this study published a few years ago, it shows that if the top 1% of Americans just pay the taxes they owe — not getting taxed higher, just stop evading them — then we could raise that $177 billion total. This is a thought exercise and a challenge for us. It’s a clear example of how we need to reject the scarcity mindset of, “We can’t afford to do more to fight poverty in America.” The answer is staring us right in the face. We could afford to do more if we stopped subsidizing the affluent so much and letting corporations and rich families get away with such tax evasion and avoidance. Courtesy of The Curbside Chronicle / International Network of Street Papers Cover of Desmond's book. “Poverty, By America” is available now on hardback, paperback, ebook and audiobook.
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