In an attempt to reduce the flow of illicit fentanyl from China to the United States,
The Biden administration is discussing lifting sanctions on a Chinese police forensics institute suspected of participating in human-rights abuses, people familiar with the matter said, in a bid to secure Beijing’s renewed cooperation in fighting the fentanyl crisis.
This is a fool’s errand.
Set aside whether sanctions have any impact on Chinese human rights abuses.
The crucial fact is that attempts to tamp down drug production in one place either shift production elsewhere or fail outright. Remember that in the French Connection, released in 1971, Turkey was the major source of illicit heroin. In subsequent years, however, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia have all been major suppliers.
Stamping out fentanyl, moreover, is the wrong objective; prohibition is why fentanyl and other drugs are so dangerous. Legalization is the only sensible approach.