Who's to Blame for the U.S. Fentanyl Crisis?

While China has long been criticized for its failure to crack down on Chinese companies producing fentanyl precursors that often end up in Mexican drug labs, Americans see plenty of culprits for the ongoing fentanyl crisis that is taking tens of thousand of American lives each year.

According to a YouGov/Economist poll conducted in November 2023, people put the most blame on drug dealers who illegally sell fentanyl, often unbeknownst to the buyers who think they’re purchasing another drug that has been laced with the highly potent and incredibly lethal synthetic opioid. Mexico, the main source of the finished drug, comes second on the list of perceived culprits, with China, the main supplier of fentanyl precursors, close behind.

Only slightly fewer people put at least some blame on the federal government, which has so far failed to find a way to effectively stop the flow of fentanyl into the country and subsequently the hands of its citizens.