The Smuggler's Blues

“So baby, here's your ticket. Put the suitcase in your hand, here's a little money now, do it just the way we planned. You be cool for 20 hours, and I'll pay you 20 grand…” The Smuggler’s Blues… Glenn Frey… Love him or hate him, you’ve got to give Trump credit, he came out of the gate swinging. He’d made enough promises to fill three lifetimes—heal the sick, raise the dead, a Ford in every garage, a chicken in every pot, he sounded like Huey Long. Three weeks into his presidency, he picked a fight and slapped highly publicized, but short-lived, tariffs on Canada and Mexico, our next-door neighbors, and largest trading partners. One of the reasons he cited was their inability, or lack of interest, in stopping the flow of Fentanyl into the United States. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. There is a high risk for addiction and dependence and can cause respiratory distress and death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances, especially alcohol or other illicit drugs such as heroin or cocaine (per Google search and DEA/Gov). Before we judge Chinese drug manufacturers or Canadian and Mexican border enforcement too harshly, we should think back to the Volstead Act of 1919 (commonly called Prohibition) that banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Overnight, thousands of “Speakeasys” opened, bootleggers became millionaires, and the modern organized crime families were born. In the roaring 20’s Americans wanted to drink and didn’t give a fat rat’s ass about the law. Today they want to party on a variety of chemical substances and still don’t give a fat rat’s ass about the law. Social ostracism, sermons from the pulpit, or parental advice is generally ignored. In 2025, recreational drug use has become the norm from the ghetto to Park Avenue, it’s an equal opportunity problem. Law enforcement has thrown their hands in the air, the court system is swamped, half the time in a drug dealer’s trial, most of the jury is stoned. Recreational drug use has become as common as beer cans, socially acceptable in almost any setting, and glorified in TV and movies. Everyone has an opinion, but no one has a realistic answer to the drug problem. Ashleigh Fields wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal Op Ed… “White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says they (meaning Canada and Mexico) have enabled illegal drugs to pour into America. But drugs have flowed into the U.S. for decades, and will continue to do so as long as Americans keep using them…” Like it or not, her comments highlight several basic truths, (1) you can’t legislate morality (2) unpopular laws are generally ignored (3) most people aren’t overly concerned about the common good (4) you can always find someone to do something stupid, illegal, dangerous, or possibly fatal if the money is right. All discussions about this issue end up back at the same two options—continue with billions of dollars spent on drug enforcement and treatment or adopt a cold Darwinian approach that these addictions and deaths are self-inflicted injuries, and the users bear sole responsibility for their fate. What’s the answer? I have no idea, I don’t pretend to have the wisdom, moral stature or required savior gene to mess with something this complex. If you have an idea, write me a guest commentary and I’ll publish it …