‘Substantial amount’ of fentanyl gets smuggled through legal trade, report argues

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A primary factor contributing to the fentanyl epidemic in the United States may be the smuggling of the drug through legal trade flows, according to a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). “A substantial amount of fentanyl smuggling occurs via legal trade flows, with a positive relationship between [nation] state-level imports and drug overdoses that accounts for 15,000-20,000 deaths per year,” the report stated. “This relationship is not explained by geographic differences in ‘deaths of despair,’ general demand for opioids, or job losses from import competition. Our results suggest that fentanyl smuggling via imports is pervasive and...