As American states rush to curb the surging death toll from fentanyl, the supercharged opioid swirling through the US’s illicit drug supply, they are increasingly reaching for laws and tactics reminiscent of the failed “war on drugs” of the 1980s.
Dozens of states have introduced tougher laws in recent months in a desperate attempt to hold back the tide of a drug claiming nearly 200 lives a day that is the leading cause of deaths among American adults under the age of 45.
