Musk On Fentanyl Crisis: Draconian Penalties Or Legalization

Elon Musk is unafraid to weigh in on the most pressing issues of the day, and he had strong words for the fentanyl overdose crisis gripping the nation. The entrepreneur suggested either severe penalties for possession of the drug or outright legalization.

With hundreds of Americans dying each day and fentanyl pouring across Biden’s open border, there is an urgent need for a solution.

Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, “We either need to legalize fentanyl, so addicts don’t accidentally take lethal doses, or engage in draconian penalties for fentanyl possession.”

The Tesla and SpaceX owner added, “If authorities refuse to do the latter, we should at least try the former to see if fewer tragedies occur.”

His declaration was in response to a Michael Shellenberger post bemoaning the lack of action against the crisis. The commentator rejected arguments that the U.S. has no course of action to stop fentanyl abuse.

Shellenberger opined, “We might not be able to stop it from coming into the U.S., but we can crack down on open-air drug dealing and mandate rehab to addicts who break the law.”

Failure to act, he concluded, will lead to a million unnecessary deaths.

There is already substantial movement toward Musk’s suggestion of harsher penalties, at least for those who deal in the deadly drug. In Los Angeles, a new task force is targeting dealers for murder charges when users die from taking their products.

LA County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Bobby Dean said the danger is the cheap high from a substance that is “a hundred times more powerful than morphine.”

Death can be instant when exposed to a “bad batch.” One undercover street buy for a mere $80 netted enough fentanyl to kill 20 people in a single baggie.

Dean said the task force is moving on dealers in the manner of a homicide case. “It is a death investigation.”

Sheriff Robert Luna’s deputies last year seized over 3,000,000 fentanyl pills, 10% more than the previous year. He asked, “What is the difference between somebody who stabs you or shoots you or is selling you pills that highly likely will kill you?”