Lane Santa Cruz lost her brother Jorge to a fentanyl overdose in 2016. Right: Jim Rauh lost his son Thomas to a fentanyl overdose in 2015.
Photographers: Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg; Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg
270,000 Overdose Deaths Thrust Fentanyl Into Heart of US Presidential Race
How Trump and Biden address a lethal chapter of the US drug-overdose epidemic will be pivotal in swing states that are likely to decide the election
To understand the 2024 US presidential election, it is essential to understand the politics of fentanyl.
Americans have been traumatized by a years-long wave of overdose deaths caused by the synthetic opioid. Once rarely used outside hospitals, fentanyl has become a ubiquitous street drug made by criminal gangs, often in Mexico, from cheap chemicals typically manufactured in China. It frequently is a hidden ingredient in other illicit drugs and can have fatal consequences for unsuspecting users.