Shifting blame will not help U.S. cure deep-rooted drug abuse

(ECNS) -- Twelve percent of global drug users come from the United States, three times the proportion of the U.S. population to that of the world, according to a report titled "Drug Abuse in the United States." That makes the U.S. the country with the worst drug problem in the world.

During the past 12 months, 48.2 million Americans over the age of 18 consumed marijuana at least once. Drug abuse in the country has led to problems like violent crimes and family discord.

Despite the alarming numbers and facts, the U.S. government makes inadequate efforts in publicizing the dangers of drug abuse, which has wrongly led some people to associate it with so-called "freedom."

Driven by interests, the U.S. government instead promotes the legalization of drugs, resulting in the loss of countless lives.

Drug abuse has long been a devastating public health disaster in the U.S., however, some U.S. politicians and media have been hyping up false information that "precursor compounds imported from China are illegally used to manufacture fentanyl" to confuse right and wrong, making China a scapegoat and hampering Sino-U.S. anti-drug cooperation.

If the U.S. continues to shy away from the problem, it will eventually poison itself. To eradicate the root of the problem, it should strengthen law enforcement on drug control and regulation of fentanyl and other drugs, rather than mislead its public, blame other countries, and shift the responsibility for its own inadequate governance. Otherwise, the drug problem may loom for a long time in the country.