The Morning: A new kind of drug

May 20, 2022

This morning, we help explain why the drug problem in the U.S. has gotten so much worse in recent years. — David Leonhardt

By German Lopez

Good morning. Drugs made in labs now cause most U.S. overdose deaths.

Elizabeth Cheryl Dillender and her daughter, Kristin. They lost a relative to fentanyl.Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times

100,000 deaths

For much of human history, people got their drugs from nature. Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant, cocaine from coca leaves, heroin from poppies and magic mushrooms really do come from mushrooms. Even legal drugs, like alcohol, tobacco and coffee, come from plants. Their highs were often discovered by chance, when someone consumed them in just the right way.

But in today's overdose crisis, the most damaging drugs do not come from plants. They are synthetic — manufactured in a lab, usually requiring no plants at all.

Last year, fentanyl — a synthetic opioid — caused more overdose deaths than any other drug has in a single year. The second-deadliest drug was meth, which is also produced in labs (the kind you might have seen in "Breaking Bad").

Together, fentanyl and meth helped make 2021 the worst year for drug overdoses in U.S. history: The full-year death toll topped 100,000 for the first time, the C.D.C. reported last week.

Both drugs have proliferated so quickly because they are synthetic.

Traffickers prefer synthetics because they can make and ship the drugs around the world more quickly and discreetly. Cartels no longer need a large, exposed field with dozens of workers to mass-produce drugs; they can just start a lab in a tucked-away warehouse or apartment building with a handful of chemists. And these technicians can make more powerful drugs, which lets traffickers smuggle smaller amounts for the same high.

Drug users often prefer synthetics, too: The drugs are typically cheaper, even though they are more potent.

So fentanyl and meth have spread seemingly everywhere, pushing overdose deaths to record highs year after year.

Counterfeit oxycodone tablets, which were found to contain fentanyl.Kholood Eid for The New York Times

A synthetic takeover

America's antidrug efforts have struggled to keep up with the rise in synthetics, letting the overdose crisis worsen.

In some ways, the drugs' rise is the latest turn in an escalating competition between law enforcement and traffickers. Smugglers hid drugs in cargo in cars, boats and planes, so the authorities deployed drug-sniffing dogs and conducted more thorough stops and searches. Traffickers flew drugs across the border with drones, so law enforcement launched blimps with low-altitude radar to detect them.

But synthetic drugs are a major shift in that battle. Regina LaBelle, the former acting drug czar for President Biden, told me their rise was her office's "worst nightmare." The traditional war on drugs largely focused on stopping the flow of drugs grown on farms. It did not work perfectly, but it had a significant effect: One expert estimated that prohibition increased the price of heroin and cocaine by 10 to 20 times, so users were less likely, or able, to buy them.

The impact is likely smaller for synthetic drugs because they are easier to make and smuggle.

With synthetics, the authorities may not even know what to look for. New synthetic drugs regularly pop up — often with impossible-sounding names, like "isotonitazene" — making it hard for officials to keep up with the latest threat.

Many experts now argue that the U.S. needs to fight the addiction crisis by investing in alternative strategies that focus more on expanding treatment and on harm reduction than on reducing the supply of drugs. At the rate that overdose deaths are increasing, the alternatives may be the only option.

For more: Drug users are mixing opioids and stimulants in more dangerous combinations known as "speedballs" and "goofballs."

THE LATEST NEWS

War in Ukraine

The body of a Russian soldier in Vilkhivka, Ukraine.Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times

The Senate approved $40 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine. President Biden is expected to sign it into law.
The money would bring total U.S. aid to $54 billion. The Upshot puts that number into context.
Biden met with the leaders of Finland and Sweden, pledging "strong support" for the countries' bids to join NATO.
A Times visual investigation shows how Russian soldiers executed men in Bucha.
Cheap Russian oil has made Hungary's biggest energy company rich. Some of that money makes its way to American conservatives.

The Virus

Samantha Castaned, 10, receiving a vaccine dose in San Francisco last year.Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times

C.D.C. advisers are recommending Pfizer boosters for children 5 to 11.
The U.S. has surpassed a million Covid deaths, according to The Times's database.
Thousands of people seeking asylum are at the southern border, waiting for the U.S. to lift a pandemic health rule that kept them out.

Politics

The Oklahoma Legislature approved a bill that bans nearly all abortions and allows lawsuits against providers and anyone who "aids or abets" a termination.
The Jan. 6 committee wants Representative Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican, to answer questions about a Capitol tour he gave before the attack.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill to expand what kind of baby formula Americans can buy with federal benefits.
Biden will meet with the leaders of India, Japan and other Asian countries to reassert his determination to counter China.

MORNING READS

Cross country skiers in the Svalbard Ski Marathon.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Slush: Snow sports are on thin ice in the warming Arctic.

Growing pains: Puberty is starting earlier. Doctors aren't sure why.

On the web: The shady world of online spider sales.

Travel: Los Angeles has changed since you last visited. Here's what to do there.

Modern Love: "I am transmasculine, which is to say I understand my body even less than I understand my mother."

A Times classic: Do this 20-minute exercise anywhere.

Advice from Wirecutter: Bike storage tips.

Lives Lived: Donald K. Ross was one of the original Nader's Raiders, the law students Ralph Nader mustered in the 1970s to challenge government and corporate bureaucracy. Ross promoted health care, voting rights, tax reform and other issues. He died at 78.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics.Morry Gash/Associated Press

Four N.B.A. players to know

The N.B.A. playoffs are down to four teams — Boston vs. Miami in the East, and Golden State vs. Dallas in the West. Here's one interesting player to know from each team:

Marcus Smart, Celtics: The Celtics had one of the best defenses in the N.B.A. this year, thanks in part to Smart. He was named the league's best defensive player — the first time the award has gone to a guard since the 1990s. Watch for his maniacal energy. And you can't miss his hair, dyed Celtics green.

Victor Oladipo, Heat: The Heat's starters are great, but the bench is quite good, too, including Oladipo, who was an all-star only a few years ago before an injury paused his career (and let him spend a season on The Masked Singer).

Klay Thompson, Warriors: Thompson helped take the Warriors to five Finals in a row. But he lost a season to a knee injury, and then an injury to his Achilles' tendon cost him another. Now he's back, finally, nailing three-point shots and commuting to games on his boat.

Luka Doncic, Mavericks: Doncic, the Mavericks' wunderkind, isn't a one-man team. But he's not so far from it, either: He leads his team in points, rebounds and assists. In one game during the last round of the playoffs, the opposing Phoenix Suns scored 27 points in the first half; Doncic, on his own, also scored 27.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Are these cookies worth $250? See for yourself.

What to Watch

Season four of "Stranger Things" takes a gorier turn, as the characters enter their teens.

What to Read

10 new books, selected by critics and editors at The Times.

Late Night

Stephen Colbert waxed nostalgic about a George W. Bush slip of the tongue.

Take the News Quiz

How well did you keep up with the headlines?

Now Time to Play

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was juvenile. Here is today's puzzle — or you can play online.

Here's today's Wordle. Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Uno + dos (four letters).

If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.

P.S. "Elon Musk's Crash Course," a Times documentary about Tesla's pursuit of a self-driving car, premieres tonight at 10 p.m.

Here's today's front page.

"The Daily" is about long Covid. On "The Ezra Klein Show," Kate Greasley discusses the ethics of abortion. "Still Processing" is about athletes turned actors.

Natasha Frost, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.