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Chinese Businesses Fueling the Fentanyl Epidemic Receive Millions in Crypto
- amir734jj 3y agoThis has been known for a while
- belval 3y agoNot sure why your comment got downvoted. There were several articles before COVID that covered a few low-profile drug lords from China that were smuggling fentanyl in the US. EDIT: Found the specific article I was thinking about: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-22/deadly-chinese-fentanyl-is-creating-a-new-era-of-drug-kingpins https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-22/deadly-ch...
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoIt's been going on since at least 2010
- seanmcdirmid 3y agoIt was worse before America threatens to cut off China’s preferential mail parcel treatment. They used to just drop it off in the mail directly to the USA, now they have to go through Mexico at least.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoYep. Used to be really easy to buy hundreds of grams to kilos of fentanyl straight from China. There were some problems with cross contamination/mislabeling/wrong shipment that caused some unintentional ODs. Can probably find posts about it on old Bluelight threads
- ilrwbwrkhv 3y agoYup. A16z can give you more details on this.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- e40 3y agoA link would be helpful.
- timlovelee 3y agowhat exchanges I wonder?
- hillcrestenigma 3y agoAll this feels like a rehash of the British Empire selling Opium to China in the 18th century. Only this time it's China supplying the United States along with other addictive digital platforms such as TikTok.
- quantified 3y agoWhen you put it in historical context, I'd be surprised if they gave a crap about sending it to the English-speaking world.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoI usually get downvoted when I say this
- mattacular 3y agoTo be fair, it is a pretty ridiculous comparison for anyone to make.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoSending massive amounts of drugs to a rival nation is unconventional warfare
- mattacular 3y agoSure, and to the extent the US and China are actually rival nations, that's where the similarities end.
- AdieuToLogic 3y ago> All this feels like a rehash of the British Empire selling Opium to China in the 18th century. Only this time it's China supplying the United States ... Two wrongs do not make a right.
- 3y ago
- candiddevmike 3y agoThis is a phenomenal showcase for the utter failure of the war on drugs. Regulate it, tax it, ensure folks can safely use, and help them stop using when they're ready.
- next_xibalba 3y ago[flagged]
- quantified 3y agoShowcase the hardcore users to scare kids straight.
- dismalpedigree 3y agoThis is your brain on drugs.
- 1letterunixname 3y agoJust say "no" to any more out-of-touch, tone-deaf Nancy Reagans bringing their tired PSAs.
- bdcravens 3y agoIt's hard enough keeping books in libraries with the mildest of subject matter.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> hardcore users to scare kids straight Evidence shows these tactics being between ineffective [1] and backfiring splendidly [2]. It did in my peer group. Because you see a friend smoke a blunt or do a line and, lo and behold, their teeth don’t fall out. That crisis of credibility then corrodes the entire message. Fact-based messaging together with testing to ensure purity makes more sense than Puritanical fear mongering. [1] https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.94.6.1027?download=true https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.94.6.... [2] https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/108479/Stibe_2016b_Cugelman_Backfiring.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/108479/Stibe_...
- Scoundreller 3y agoMy thought was "just millions"? The actual article says "tens of millions", but I think that's incorrect. But crypto or not, there are many methods of moving currency into China. That's the easy part because there's so much demand to get currency out.
- xiphias2 3y agoBTC/USDT is easy to use but too easy to follow unless the person is going to extreme lengths to protect their anonimity (which generally drug dealers don't do, as it takes a huge amount of discipline). A graph analysis can show the whole trading network.
- flerovium 3y agoIs this true? Consider: > Elliptic researchers received offers from more than 90 China-based companies to supply fentanyl precursors, 90% of which accepted cryptocurrency payments. But if they bought it, would the fentanyl precursors arrive?
- gettodachoppa 3y agoWhat appears to be the problem here? So Chinese online businesses are selling chemicals to Mexican customers which can be used to produce fentanyl? Then Mexicans smuggle this into America? The USA could simply protect their border and 99% of the supply would dry up (in addition to great reductions in crime that affects ordinary Americans). But then the Democrats wouldn't have a steady flow of illegal (and soon to be legal) voters, so that cannot be allowed to happen.
- oarfish 3y agoNice try.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- daflip 3y agoThis article claims Fentanyl is the "leading cause of death for those aged 18-45 in the USA". I can't find any legit source for this claim on the internet which proves this to be the case, only the opposite in fact.
- dazsnow 3y agoMore yellow peril clickbait