Homemade Synthetics Fuel New Wave of U.S. Drug Crisis

As the wind rustled through a tall oak tree nearby, she recalled: “The day I learned I was pregnant, I was on my way to end my life. I was exhausted from trying to quit. I was exhausted from living in a tent in the woods, relying on a bucket. I was exhausted from losing friends and family because I felt such deep shame.”

A pregnancy test changed her mind. She subsequently spent time in Cook County jail on theft charges. Her parents, sensing an opportunity for her to get clean, declined to post her bail. Karen got sober, and Abby was born behind bars.

When asked whether she has ever been tempted to experiment with drugs, Abby, who hopes to become a tattoo artist, replied: “No. I’ve seen what it does to families—my father, my mother, the loss of my aunt and uncles. It’s not worth being high for a couple of hours.”

She added: “Many people are struggling, especially as the cost of living and food prices keep rising. Mental health care is also prohibitively expensive, leaving some unable to get help and turning instead to drugs.”

Generations of Americans have faced drug crises, but none has been the same. The threat has evolved from heroin to prescription opioids, then to fentanyl, and now to a new generation of synthetic substances.

Successive administrations have waged—and lost—the war on drugs. Dealers, suppliers, cartels, and users continue to adapt, always staying a few steps ahead of efforts to stop them.

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