“Kamala Harris wants to legalize Fentanyl”: does the Democratic candidate really want to promote the “zombie drug”?

Images of drug addicts looking like zombies (new window)who wander around in broad daylight continue to make the news. Fifty times stronger than heroin, fentanyl is wreaking havoc in the United States and is now showing up in the American countryside. During a rally organized this Sunday, September 30 in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump accused his opponent of defending the legalization of this “zombie drug” which is ravaging the country.

A document taken out of context

“Kamala Harris is so radical that she even wants to legalize Fentanyl… which is pouring across our border at record levels, levels never seen before”launched the candidate (new window)Republican in the race for the White House. A very serious accusation, as the health crisis caused by opioids in the United States is immense, becoming the leading cause of death among 18-45 year olds. (new window). As is often the case, however, it is difficult to determine the source of the person who made “fake news” a trademark.

No member of Donald Trump’s campaign has specified the origin of this charge. But several American media (new window)link this rumor to the existence of a questionnaire submitted to Kamala Harris in 2019. Then a candidate for the Democratic nomination, she responded to a form from the American Civil Liberties Union. Among the questions, the association for the defense of individual rights and freedoms wants to know if Kamala Harris supports “the decriminalization of all drug possession for personal use. To which the questioned responds in the affirmative. Before explaining.

“It’s high time we changed our outdated and discriminatory criminalization of marijuana.” In his response available online (new window)she also adds that she is in favor of drug addiction being treated as a public health problem, with an emphasis on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. She does not mention opioids or the famous “zombie drug” (new window)and only mentions the “decriminalization“, which does not necessarily imply any legalization.

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This accusation from the Trump camp is all the more false as it is in total contradiction with the comments made by Kamala Harris two days earlier. While traveling to the southern border of the country, the vice-president, on the contrary, described this powerful opioid as “scourge on our country”. In front of the press, Kamala Harris also pledged to fight against the networks that supply the United States, causing a health crisis. Among the measures proposed, the current vice-president notably stated that she wanted “provide more resources to law enforcement” and directly attack the “global fentanyl supply chain”. A position a thousand miles from any legalization.

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