LETTER: Opioids and a rise in Nevada overdoses

Sunday’s front-page article, “Killer drugs, murder cases,” highlights a growing drug overdose problem in Southern Nevada. As you note, in 2021 the Clark County coroner’s office said we had 218 deaths from fentanyl overdose (and that number could be higher as toxicology reports are finalized). In 2020, there were 181 deaths and, in 2019, there were 64.

While I applaud District Attorney Steve Wolfson’s approach to dealing with the people who provide these drugs, his efforts are after the fact. Someone has already died from a fentanyl overdose.

As so many say today, let’s deal with the “root causes” of these deaths. It’s the illegal fentanyl flooding over our porous southern border by the cartels. The Biden administration stopped the building of the border wall and has allowed a flood of people and drugs to easily enter our country. The border agents who are still working (many have left) have their hands full dealing with those seeking asylum and have precious little time to go after “getaways” who are trafficking in illegal drugs.

Until the administration does something to close the southern border, we will not be able to solve the problem of rising fentanyl overdoses.