In the midst of the worst drug epidemic in American history, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s ability to keep addictive opioids off U.S. streets was derailed — that according to Joe Rannazzisi, one of the most important whistleblowers ever interviewed by 60 Minutes. Rannazzisi ran the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, the division that regulates and investigates the pharmaceutical industry. Now in a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and The Washington Post, Rannazzisi tells the inside story of how, he says, the opioid crisis was allowed to spread — aided by Congress, lobbyists, and a drug distribution industry that shipped, almost unchecked, hundreds of millions of pills to rogue pharmacies and pain clinics providing the rocket fuel for a crisis that, over the last two decades, has claimed 200,000 lives.
I often wonder to what degree federal agents like this whistleblower know how the government works. This guy clearly was a warrior who joined to try and save lives. But the problem is, he has just pissed off a major sector of the economy, with very powerful players running it. He has humiliated politicians, which probably displeases their puppet masters. His old agency, which clearly had already been turned to serve the machine more than its cause or its agents is probably also not pleased. And even more dangerous is that if the CIA is running opium out of Afghanistan, as rumored, they might have been happy to see a mechanism which increased opioid addiction in the US.
I can’t actually judge that last strategy, as it would in essence have been reapportioning resources from junkies to fuel national security elsewhere and keep the rest of the population safe, at least in part. But regardless, society would frown on such things, so CIA might also be displeased with this agent for drawing attention to the issue.
Which brings me to the question of how much this guy knows about the risks he just took on.
As amygdalae deteriorate in society, everything which was held within strict bounds of propriety begins to go haywire. Those who win biggest are those who see the rules are breaking down, and take advantage of the situation. And those who take advantage may end up in control of a machine that nobody would believe could exist.
I hope this guy knows what he is getting into.
If he didn’t he is about to find out.
Tell others about r/K Theory, because it is a mess out there
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What’s in it for the government to – at best – look the other way, or to – at worst – enable the opioid addiction to skyrocket? Is it to further dull the minds of the population?
Opioids lead to heroin addiction. Afghanistan Opium exports went from about 42 metric tons in 2001 to 4800 metric tons today, and we have told our troops that if under fire, they need to take the bullets, rather than take cover in opium fields.
There was a precedent there supposedly in Vietnam.
I would guess that most of the opiod consumers are disaffected, K-selected whites living in the middle of the country. Anything which curbs their numbers is all right with the Deep State.
I’m not so sure that a battle against all opioids is right or necessary. People take these because they work. I was in a car accident once. I was doing ok and didn’t take the pills prescribed before I went to bed. WOOW I woke up the next morning in so much pain it was terrible. I crawled to where I had the pills and took one and waited 30 minutes and then I could move again. People get these for a reason. I didn’t get hooked on them but didn’t have chronic long term pain so when I stopped hurting I stopped taking them. If someone has chronic pain they’re not going to be running about being productive citizens so why shouldn’t we at least let them be reasonably pain free?
You can be not in favor of drug addiction yet still realize that humans have limitations and sometimes they take drugs to cope. It’s not always some deep moral failure on their part.
Is enduring chronic pain “K”? I don’t think it necessarily always breaks that way. What if the government allowed drugs in measured doses and also drugs that would get you high but were less harmful? There was a guy in New Zealand that argued this. What if Fentanyl was available in measured doses? It’s the dose that’s killing people. It used successfully in hospitals all the time because they have measured doses. Stopping illegal immigration, Chinese trade barriers and outsourcing of jobs would have more effect on illegal drug use than all the drug agents on the planet. It seems a waste of effort to keep denying people some measure of relief from their problems. This could be done without killing them or costing a fortune putting them in jail.