Reaction: 2024 Presidential Debate

During the first Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump, the question of fentanyl arose. While the drug market is continually evolving, fentanyl and its lethality requires special attention as it has drastically changed the drug landscape in America. Fentanyl is involved in 84% of drug-related fatalities for people between the ages of 15 and 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report. The debate was an opportunity for the presidential candidates to address this crisis by providing a plan for tangible treatment solutions, public education, awareness campaigns, and stigma reduction to prevent drug-related fatalities. It was an opportune moment to discuss how to save lives, families and communities for millions of Americans, yet it was not addressed.

Currently, nearly 49 million Americans ages 12 and older are living with addiction and data shows that there were an estimated 107,543 U.S. drug-related deaths last year. Such staggering figures means almost every American has a friend or a loved one who is affected by addiction. Sadly, less than 4.5% of people who need treatment for addiction will ever receive it. Our presidential candidates have a chance this election cycle to propose and address policies and strategies with popular support.  

Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization focused on transforming the addiction treatment system so that millions of Americans today and future generations have access to treatment – just like treatment for any other medical condition. Shatterproof urges Congress to focus on a multi-pronged approach including an awareness campaign targeting youth and increased surveillance of people and vehicles entering the country. Additionally, our country needs more quality addiction treatment care and more access to that care for this treatable medical condition, and the country needs to hear from the candidates about how they will address this for the millions of families impacted.

Yes, fentanyl is an important issue. Our nation is facing the biggest health crisis and the worst drug epidemic in its history, and fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the driving forces currently devastating communities across the nation. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49, according to the CDC and a Washington Post analysis — more than car accidents, suicides or gun violence. According to the CDC, more than 150 people die every day from drug-related fatalities related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. For about $25, anyone can buy a pill laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl.  Fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more than heroin, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

The bigger issue is the growing number of people with substance use disorder year over year.

A recent Axios poll shows that 26% of Americans overall see opioids as the greatest current threat to U.S. public health — the largest share of any concern cited. This is not an issue that should be overshadowed in politics. It is time we hear both candidates' plans to address this public health crisis. Politically, ending overdose and supporting recovery can and should be a unifying issue. 

Shatterproof was a founding partner of the first-ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day on May 10, 2022, which helped develop an awareness moment to draw national attention to this issue. Shatterproof also served on an advisory committee for the Ad Council’s Fentanyl Campaign, which launched in August 2022. Shatterproof is working with the Ad Council to amplify the campaign and offer educational resources. The national nonprofit is also part of a coalition that aims to close the de minimis trade loophole that allows more than 4 billion small packages to enter the U.S. per year, many of them from China, with very little scrutiny.