Dawn Allen, a staunch Democrat, has found herself disillusioned with the leadership of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, particularly their handling of the opioid crisis.
Allen, who once held Biden in high regard, has seen her enthusiasm wane following the tragic loss of her 22-year-old son, Benjamin, to a Fentanyl overdose last year.
According to the Daily Mail, Allen's frustration stems from what she perceives as Biden's lackadaisical approach to the opioid crisis, a sentiment that has led her to declare she will not vote for a Democrat in the future. Her political alignment now leans more towards former President Donald Trump, who has been vocal about the Fentanyl issue.
Trump has consistently criticized the Biden administration, including Harris, who served as its 'border czar,' for the record-breaking illegal immigration which he argues is exacerbating crime and the Fentanyl crisis. Allen, a 47-year-old mother of three other children, likens her political shift to a painful breakup, expressing deep hurt and disappointment.
Allen is not alone in her sentiments. She is part of a group of families who have lost loved ones to opioids, and they are collectively urging government officials to take more decisive action to address the epidemic that claimed over 81,000 lives last year. Many members of this group resonate with Trump's tough stance on curbing the influx of drugs into the U.S..
However, it is worth noting that during Trump's four-year term, opioid deaths rose by 47 percent, as per CDC data. In 2017, 47,600 people died from opioid overdoses, and by 2020, Trump's last full year in office, the death toll had risen to over 70,000. Fentanyl-related deaths saw an even more significant increase during Trump's term.
Andrea Thomas, a leader in the movement who lost her daughter in 2018, confirmed that the Fentanyl awareness crowd 'leans to the right - no question.' She accused the U.S. government of being almost complicit in the crisis, pointing to the unlimited supply of this lethal substance in the country.
Republicans are capitalizing on the momentum of this movement, which recently staged a protest outside the Democratic National Convention, raising awareness about the Fentanyl crisis. The DNC failed to address the opioid crisis in any of its prime-time speeches, a stark contrast to the GOP convention in July, which featured a mother who lost her 15-year-old son to an accidental Fentanyl overdose.
Anne Funder, the grieving mother, squarely blamed Democrats for her son Weston's death. She held Biden, Harris, and all Democrats who support open borders responsible for the tragedy. Trump, on the other hand, frequently discusses Fentanyl, while Harris has largely remained silent on the issue.
Trump's proposed solutions include dismantling gangs and cartels, stopping the flow of Fentanyl, expanding the death penalty to drug dealers, using the military to target Mexican cartels, and significantly reducing border crossing to curb drug smuggling. However, experts have questioned the efficacy of these measures, pointing out that most Fentanyl is smuggled in by Americans through lawful points of entry.
Despite these criticisms, Fentanyl activists appreciate Trump's efforts to draw attention to the issue, something they feel Biden has failed to do. Allen lamented, 'We don't feel seen, we don't feel heard.'
The Biden Administration has defended its actions, stating that they have met with hundreds of opioid-affected families, made historic investments in treatment, and seized record amounts of Fentanyl at the border. However, the fact remains that Fentanyl deaths saw a significant increase during Biden's first year in office.
In 2019, Trump managed to persuade China, the largest source of Fentanyl smuggling through international mail, to regulate the production of the drug. However, Mexican cartels adapted and began importing the ingredients from China to manufacture Fentanyl pills. Experts attribute the subsequent increase in Fentanyl deaths to this development, as the potent substance is often mixed into nearly all illegal drugs and counterfeit pills.
Biden has imposed sanctions on Chinese manufacturers of the chemicals used in Fentanyl production, but this has not halted the flow to Mexico. He has also made Narcan, a drug that reverses overdoses, more widely available, a move that experts believe contributed to a 2 percent decline in Fentanyl deaths last year.
However, April Babcock, who lost a son in 2019 and started an advocacy organization, believes that more needs to be done. She stated, 'We're not going to Narcan our way out of this.' Babcock and her organization, Lost Voices of Fentanyl, are determined to hold whoever is in office accountable, even if it's Trump. They have already planned a rally in Washington D.C. for 2025.
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