Fentanyl Tests Chile

El Líbero, November 3, 2023

If the use of fentanyl spreads in the country, the health problem arising from consumption will add to the violence of drug gangs.

We have long left behind our role as a transit country and positioned ourselves as a significant per capita drug consumption center. Marijuana and cocaine remain the most in demand, but synthetic drugs have gradually entered the scene. Alongside the increase in ketamine the consumption of 2CB or tusi, large shipments of mercury, a precursor used for the production of crystal methamphetamine have also been identified, and now fentanyl.

Drug consumption can lead to a public health emergency. One only needs to look at what is happening in Kensington, Philadelphia, to illustrate the social damage caused by addiction to narcotics.

Chile has arrived late to the fight against drug trafficking. The government had to change its priorities, leaving behind the times when it voted against intelligence or organized crime projects and promoting a security agenda that responds to citizens’ demands. However, this is only part of the problem.

Drug trafficking exists because it responds to a demand for psychotropic substances, and as long as that demand exists, so will the drug trade. It will manifest differently in each country, but it will not disappear. Where there is a strong and consolidated state, consumption will be the main challenge; whereas, in weakened states, violence will take center stage.

In the case of Chile, the challenge is quite complex. On one hand, the violence of organized crime forces the government to take concrete measures to curb its advance; on the other hand, we are the third country in South America that consumes the most cocaine, synthetic drugs have advanced, and the so-called zombie drug has already arrived. Fentanyl, a powerful pain treatment, has wreaked havoc in the United States, is present in Argentina, and this weekend two individuals were arrested for attempting to sell it for recreational use.

From pharmacies to the streets, that has been the story of drugs in Chile. In the early 20th century, cocaine was trafficked around pharmacies, then in nightclubs, and… we already know how that story ended. Today, fentanyl is also jumping from medical use to social use; the issue is that this time we cannot afford to be late.

If the use of fentanyl spreads in the country, the health problem arising from consumption will add to the violence of drug gangs. And, in a context where waiting lists are multiplying, health coverage is in crisis, and the government has not shown particular skill in managing these issues, it seems difficult to take action that addresses the problems generated by drug consumption.

When we talk about drugs, supply and demand go hand in hand. Violence and consumption are part of the same threat; not everything occurs in the same place or at the same time. This threat is global; as long as there is demand somewhere, organized crime will exist elsewhere to satisfy it. The problem is that, as long as the rule of law continues to recede in Chile and drug consumption remains, we are increasingly exposed to violence and addiction occurring simultaneously and in the same place.

Pilar Lizana
Researcher, AthenaLab

Source: El Líbero