Musk says solution to fentanyl crisis is to 'legalize it'

On Monday, Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk proposed making fentanyl legal as a possible solution to slow or stop the large number of drug overdoes to which it has been linked.

Musk, the CEO of Twitter, made the comment in response to a tweet that includes an image a woman who seems to be saying, "Most fentanyl sellers... are trying to survive under the same destructive, racist system that replaced opium with morphine, then heroine, then fentanyl: the War on Drugs."

The libertarian-minded Musk replied: "I think we should legalize it. The probability of overdose or a bad batch is greatly reduced if there is actual [Quality Assurance] & regulation." 

Musk then used the failed 1920's prohibition on alcohol as justification for ending the so-called war on drugs, calling alcohol "a legacy drug from olden times when we had no technology!"

"Prohibition of alcohol in the United States caused the greatest increase in organized crime in our history. How many times do we have to learn this lesson?!," Musk concluded. 

One user responded that he "used to" agree with ending the drug war, but cited San Fransisco, California as evidence that such an experiment has already failed.

"The best test case we have for this is San Francisco – where all drugs are functionally legal," he wrote. "Look at where that’s gotten us."

San Fransisco is know for its progressive drug laws. With an estimated 25,000 drug users, San Fransisco's mayor declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin district due to the surge in drug deaths and violent crime in 2021.

Last year, the city it was reportedly had "10-20 situations a day" pertaining to drug-related offenses or deaths, with San Francisco Fire Department's Captain Michael Mason calling it an "epidemic."

Fentanyl is the most lethal narcotic on the market.  The deadly drug reportedly kills 150 people everyday in the U.S. 

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