Is There Anything We Can Do About It?

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"We're now in the synthetic air of drugs, probably never to return," he says. "It's what drug traffickers find most easy, risk free and profitable' He argues that capitalism is good at 'giving people what they want' But when we are faced with enormous economic forces like those in mexico, this can't go on.

Author and journalist Sam Quinones talks about his book, The Least of Us, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Quinones focuses on the devastation caused by methamphetamine and fentanyl, the latest evolution of innovation in the supply of mind-altering drugs in the United States. The latest versions of meth, he argues, are more emotionally damaging than before and have played a central role in the expansion of the homeless in tent encampments in American cities. The conversation includes an exploration of the rising number of overdose deaths in the United States and what role community and other institutions might play in reducing the death toll.