Letter to the Editor:

We can end the Opioid Crisis

Eighty-five percent of heroin users start by taking legal opioids. Fentanyl and carfentanil are involved in a clear majority of overdose deaths. Even combining these with moderate alcohol use can be deadly. The toxicity of carfentanil has been compared to that of nerve gas. Yet It is only classified as Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act in the United States.

There is a better way than war and mass incarceration. 90 percent of public money spent fighting drugs in Portugal is channeled toward health-care goals – just 10 per cent is spent on police enforcement. They removed the criminal penalties for all drug use and combined this action with an intense focus on harm reduction, treatment and rehabilitation. A decade later, the number of addicts is halved, and overdose deaths have dropped to just 30 a year for the entire country.

We can save many lives by phasing out the war on drugs and focusing on harm reduction. This activity is also cost effective and positive for the workforce in Iowa where we need able employees to turn our rural cities around and to continue our successes in urban areas.

I am running for Attorney General of Iowa. You can keep in touch with me at www.battagliaforiowa.com

Marco Battaglia

Des Moines