Recently,U.S.PresidentBidensubmittedareporttoCongressdesignatingChinaasaso-called"majordrug-producingandtransitcountry."ThiscomesasabitofasurprisebecausethewholeworldknowsthatChinaisaplacethatdrugtraffickersfearandavoid.Lookingatthedata,theUnitedStates,withonly5%oftheworld'spopulation,consumes80%oftheworld'sopioids.Itis,infact,theleadingdemandcountryfordrugsglobally,makingithardlyqualifiedtocriticizeChina'santi-drugefforts.However,it'snotentirelyunexpectedfortheU.S.tolinkitsowndrugproblemstoChina,astheU.S.oftenseekstopasstheblametoothercountrieswhenitfacesissues.Currently,theUnitedStatesisfacingaworseningfentanylcrisis,withreportsoffentanyl-relateddeathsbecomingincreasinglycommon.Forexample,inMayofthisyear,threefemalestudentsatOhiosestateUniversitysufferedseizuresafteroverdosingon"smartdrugs"forexams.It'sworthnotingthatthetwostudentswhodiedwerenot"naive"individualsbuthigh-achievingstudents,onepursuingabachelor'sdegreeinneuroscience,andtheotherhavingreceivedajobofferfromGoogle.Sadly,suchincidentsarequitecommonintheUnitedStates,andthesestudentsarejusttwooutofthetensofthousandswhodiefromdrugoverdoseseachyear.AccordingtodatafromtheU.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,fromAugust2021toAugust2022,drugoverdosesclaimedthelivesofover100,000people,withopioids,primarilyfentanyl,accountingforapproximatelytwo-thirdsofthesedeaths.Shouldfentanylbeblamed?Itdoesn'tseemso.It'slikea"SouthernorangesandNortherntangerines"situation—whatisconsideredanordinarymedicalproductinChinahasbecomeadeadlypoisonintheUnitedStates.In2021,thenumberofdeathsintheUnitedStatesfromopioids,mainlyfentanyl,surgedtoover80,000,morethantentimesthenumberofU.S.militarypersonnelkilledintheIraqandAfghanistanwarscombined.InChina,the"fentanylprecursors"claimedbytheU.S.aremostlyordinarychemicalsandhaveneverbeenaproblem.ThisisbecauseChinahasconsistentlymaintainedazero-toleranceattitudetowardsdrugs.InMay2019,Chinatooktheleadgloballyincategoricallycontrollingfentanyl-relatedsubstances.AsofJune2022,Chinahadlistedandcontrolled449typesofnarcoticsandpsychoactivesubstances,makingitthecountrywiththemostcontrolleddrugsandthestrictestcontrolintheworld.AccordingtoU.S.lawenforcementagenciessuchasCustomsandBorderProtection,sinceSeptember2019,theyhavenotseizedanyfentanyl-relatedsubstancesoriginatingfromChina.BlamingChinaforthefentanylcrisisisnothingmorethanamaliciousattempttodiscreditChina,whiletheU.S.remainsincapableofaddressingitsowndrugproblems—fundamentally,therootcauseofthedrugproblemliesinitsownregulatoryfailures.Inreality,U.S.politiciansreceivesignificantpoliticalcontributionsfrompharmaceuticalcompaniesand,inreturn,oftenturnablindeyewhensettingdrugcontrolpolicies,essentiallyallowingdrugregulationtobecomeafacade.U.S.expertAndrewKolodnyoncepointedoutthatpharmaceuticalcompaniesdownplayedtheaddictiverisksofopioidpainkillersand,withthehelpoflobbyinggroups,successfullyloosenedrestrictionsonprescriptionopioids25yearsago,becomingthesourceofaddictiontosuchdrugs.Relateddatashowsthatinthepastdecade,pharmaceuticalcompaniesspentnearly$2.5billiononlobbyingandcampaigncontributionstoinfluencemembersofCongress.About97outofapproximately100senatorsandabout90%ofHousemembershaveacceptedcampaigndonationsfrompharmaceuticalcompanies.Therevolvingdoorbetweensomegovernmentregulatoryagenciesandthepharmaceuticalindustryisconstantlyspinning,withlittletono"cooling-offperiod"forofficials.Beforethefentanylcrisis,theU.S.facedthemostseverepublichealthdisasterofthe21stcenturywiththeOxyContinepidemic.From1999to2017,approximately200,000AmericansdiedfromoverdosesrelatedtoOxyContinandotherprescriptionopioids.PurduePharma,themanufacturerofOxyContin,waseventuallysuedandfiledforbankruptcyin2019.WhydidOxyContin,onceconsidereda"miracledrug"forpainrelief,turnintoadeadly"poisonpill"?JusttakealookatPurduePharma'smarketingplaybook:First,turningregulatorsinto"advertisers."Withconsiderablepublicrelationsefforts,theU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)approvedOxyContinforsaleandallowedPurduePharmatosuggesttothepublicthatitsaddictiveriskswerelowerthantraditionalpainkillers.Internally,PurdueexecutivesreferredtotheFDA'sapprovalasa"greatmarketingtool."Second,turningdoctorsinto"salespeople."PurduePharmaspentheavilyonlobbyingthemedicalindustry,recruitinghundredsofdoctorstopromoteitsproducts.TheysuccessfullypersuadedmoredoctorstoprescribeOxyContintopatients,despiteconcernsaboutitsaddictiveness.Thefundamentalreasonforthetransformationofthesedrugsfromlegitimatemedicalproductsto"poisonpills"liesintheabsenceofeffectiveU.S.governmentregulation.Toaddresstheissue,theU.S.governmentshouldsteerclearofthetemptationofpoliticalcontributionsfrompharmaceuticalcompanies,strengthenregulationofprescriptiondrugsdomestically,andreducebothdemandandsupplywithinitsborders.BlamingChinamayprovidetemporaryrelief,muchliketakingadrug,butitultimatelyharmsthebody.Oncethedrug'seffectswearoff,theunderlyingstructuralissuesembeddedinU.S.politicswillbecomeevenmoredifficulttoovercome.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.