Phillip Sanchez Opinion: Flow of illegal drugs into America is due to demand here

To the Editor,

Trump is furious at the amount of fentanyl coming across the southern border. However, he refuses to acknowledge our culpability as to why the deadly drug continues to flow north. Americans have a voracious and insatiable appetite for illegal drugs. According to the Minnesota Department of health the U.S. represents just 4.4% of the world’s population, yet we consume 80% of the world’s opioids. Each year, Americans spend nearly $100 billion on illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Our nation’s illicit drug users fund the pernicious drug cartels and gangs in Mexico. Our drug addicts keep the cartels flush with cash which they use to purchase U.S. weapons. Known as the “iron river“ an average of 16000 U.S. weapons head south every month. And our 2nd Amendment assures a plentiful supply of guns and ammo. Avarice Americans are more than willing to help smuggle weapons at an unrelenting pace. The drugs head north and the weapons south, helped by corrupt border guards willing to assist in the deadly trafficking. The mayhem and chaos the drug cartels perpetuate is one paramount driver of immigration. Many migrants are trying to escape the violence and murder funded by the U.S. American gun shops are responsible for thousands of firearms illegally trafficked into Mexico. USA Today has identified a handful of gun dealers whom are collectively responsible for more than 1,000 guns recovered in Mexico, including multiple big box retailers near the border. The immigration crisis, U.S. drug addiction, and weapons trafficking have converged to create a holistic tsunami of suffering. Our hands are not clean from this humanitarian tragedy. Until our nation addresses its dependency on illicit drugs, and we abate the U.S. weapons flow, the misery and death will continue on both sides of the border.

Phillip Sanchez is a writer, labor leader and advocate for the undocumented.