Political Gaffes and Drug Crisis: The Woz Report
5 percent of the global population has a drug problem
Welcome back to The Woz Report. With the general elections in full swing, it's hard to avoid the topic. So, in this Tuesday edition, we're diving into politics. Both Rishi Sunak and President Biden have made news headlines for the wrong reasons.
On Friday, Mr Sunak decided to head back to Number 10 for tea and medals, rather than stay in France to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. Since then, Mr Sunak has used a lot of airtime apologising. You have to wonder what he and his advisors were thinking.
Over in the US, Presidents Biden and Trump have been bumbling their words. According to Forbes, The president stood awkwardly still for about 30 seconds during a White House Juneteenth, before continuing under muffled language.
His opponent in this year’s election has also been talking nonsense. Trump went off on a tangent during a Las Vegas rally this weekend. The former president tore into new energy initiatives with a rant on electric boats. His comments were hilarious. “What would happen if the boat sank from its weight and you're in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater, and there's a shark that's approximately 10 yards over there?" Via Sky News.
Gaffes aside, as election races intensify in London and Washington, tax, immigration, conflict, and health care have been dominating the headlines. A major concern for all parties is the continuing rise in drug abuse.
America’s Opioids Nightmare
Major League Baseball has weighed in on the battle to address opioid overdoses. A report via the MLB’s website explains a two-pronged approach to teach young people about the dangers of opioids and fentanyl. According to the MLB, they're partnering with a non-profit organisation to increase training on and access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications.
Any opioid includes prescription opioids (natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone), heroin, and synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl). Opioid-involved overdose deaths rose from 49,860 in 2019 to 81,806 in 2022.
What chance do those people have who want to turn their lives around? Organised crime gangs are doing their best to make an already powerful and addictive drug even more potent. How? The DEA reports drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.
Spice Down Your Life in the UK
During my time working at a Local Government Authority, there was a rise in misuse of synthetic cannabis, commonly know as spice. If you’ve ever seen anyone completely zombified, there’s a chance that they have consumed the drug. In 2019, one of my colleagues spoke to a paramedic who had taken a spice user to hospital three times in a single day. In Manchester this weekend, there were reports that spice use is on the rise.
The United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of drug-induced deaths in Europe, with 76 deaths per million population. Statista.
It’s hard to put a financial figure on what governments have spent on fighting the war on drugs, and after decades of trying, there’s no end in sight. In 2021, CNCB reported that since 1971, America has spent over a trillion dollars enforcing its drug policy.
As the authorities adopt their tactics, so do the drug gangs. The BBC’s Detectives series shone a light on just how far drug gangs will go to push their product. In the series, the Police explained how gangs exploit young children to transport drugs in exchange for high-end fast fashion items.
Whether you live in Liverpool, Manchester, Chicago, or LA, don't expect any progress in the war against drugs under new leadership, regardless of manifestos.