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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 9 February 2022

Opioid fight needs new strategy, Cabinet leadership: report

By R. ALONSO-ZALDIVAR working in sync with one
Associated Press another.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The "Through its work, the com-
U.S. needs a nimble, mul- mission came to recognize
tipronged strategy and the impossibility of reduc-
Cabinet-level leadership to ing the availability of illegal
counter its festering over- synthetic opioids through
dose epidemic, a biparti- efforts focused on supply
san congressional commis- alone," the report said.
sion advises. "Real progress can come
With vastly powerful syn- only by pairing illicit syn-
thetic drugs like fentanyl thetic opioid supply disrup-
driving record overdose tion with decreasing the
deaths, the scourge of opi- domestic U.S. demand for
oids awaits after the CO- these drugs," it added.
VID-19 pandemic finally The report recommends
recedes, a shift that public what it calls five "pillars" for
health experts expect in government action:
the months ahead. — Elevating the White
"This is one of our most House Office of National
pressing national secu- Drug Control Policy to act
rity, law enforcement and as the nerve center for far-
public health challenges, flung federal efforts, and
and we must do more as a restoring Cabinet rank to its
nation and a government director.
to protect our most pre- — Disrupting the supply of
cious resource — American Signs are displayed at a tent during a health event on June 26, 2021, in Charleston, W.Va. drugs through better coor-
Associated Press
lives," the Commission on dinated law enforcement
Combating Synthetic Opi- actions.
oid Trafficking said in a 70- The global coronavirus matic side. "The president als are produced mainly in — Reducing the demand
page report released Tues- pandemic has overshad- has been crystal clear," China. Criminal networks in for illicit drugs through
day. owed the American opioid Trone said. "These are two Mexico control the produc- treatment and by efforts to
The report envisions a dy- epidemic for the last two major issues in America: ad- tion and shipment to the mitigate the harm to peo-
namic strategy. It would years, but recent news that diction and mental health." U.S. Federal anti-drug strat- ple addicted. Treatment

rely on law enforcement overdose deaths surpassed Trone's counterpart was egy traditionally empha- programs should follow
and diplomacy to shut 100,000 in one year caught Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. sized law enforcement and science-based "best prac-
down sources of chemi- the public's attention. Po- The U.S. government has long prison sentences. But tices."
cals used to make synthet- litically, federal legislation been waging a losing "war that came to be seen as — Using diplomacy to en-
ic opioids. It would offer to address the opioid cri- on drugs" for decades. tainted by racial bias and list help from other gov-
treatment and support for sis won support across the The stakes are much higher counter-productive be- ernments in cutting off the
people who become ad- partisan divide during both now with the widespread cause drug use is treatable. supply of chemicals that
dicted, creating pathways the Obama and Trump ad- availability of fentanyl, a The value of treatment has criminal networks use to
that can lead back to pro- ministrations. synthetic painkiller 80 to 100 recently has gained rec- manufacture fentanyl.
ductive lives. And it would Rep. David Trone, D-Md., a times more powerful than ognition with anti-addic- — Developing surveillance
invest in research to better co-chair of the panel that morphine. It can be baked tion medicines in wide use and data analysis tools
understand addiction's grip produced the report, said into illicit pills made to look alongside older strategies to spot new trends in il-
on the human brain and to he believes that support is like prescription painkillers like support groups. The re- licit drug use before they
develop treatments for opi- still there, and that the issue or anti-anxiety medicines. port endorsed both law en- morph into major problems
oid use disorder. appeals to Biden's prag- The chemical raw materi- forcement and treatment, for society.q
Justice Dept. announces $3.6B crypto

seizure, 2 arrests

York couple accused of rested in Manhattan on "The message to criminals is
conspiring to launder bil- Tuesday morning, accused clear: cryptocurrency is not
lions of dollars in cryptocur- of relying on various so- a safe haven.
rency stolen from the 2016 phisticated techniques to We can and we will follow
hack of a virtual currency launder the stolen money the money, no matter what
exchange. and conceal the transac- form it takes," Deputy Attor-
Federal law enforcement tions. They face federal ney General Lisa Monaco
officials said they recov- charges of conspiracy to said in a video statement
ered roughly $3.6 billon in commit money laundering released by the Justice De-
cryptocurrency linked to and conspiracy to defraud partment.
the hack of Bitfinex, a virtual the United States. It was un- The couple was not
An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in currency exchange whose clear if they had lawyers or charged in the Bitfinex
Washington, March 22, 2019. systems were breached people who could speak hack, which resulted in the
Associated Press nearly six years ago. on their behalf. theft of almost than 120,000
By ERIC TUCKER nounced Tuesday its larg- Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, They were in custody pend- bitcoin — at the time val-
Associated Press est-ever financial seizure a citizen of Russia and the ing an appearance in ued at nearly $71 million
WASHINGTON (AP) — The — more than $3.5 billion United States, and his wife, Manhattan's federal court and is now worth more than
Justice Department an- — and the arrests of a New Heather Morgan, were ar- later Tuesday. $4.5 billion, officials said. q