Does legalized pot fuel opioid epidemic?

• Position: Drug overdoses

Drug overdose deaths have continued to rise, with opioids alone killing 91 Americans each day, while one report cites Mexico as "the greatest criminal drug threat to the U.S." for its role in supplying those substances. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., attributes the burgeoning death totals to synthetic opioids (including illicitly manufactured fentanyl) and heroin, for which the death rates have climbed 72.2% and 20.6%, respectively, in the last year.

Some speculate that legalized cannabis inadvertently may have contributed to today's fentanyl and heroin epidemic by replacing Mexico's illegally imported marijuana with U.S.-produced crops, driving cartels to seek a new source of revenue. An analysis published by Esquire notes the Sinaloa Cartel experienced a 40% drop in marijuana sales in a single year, losing billions of dollars; so the cartels increased production of heroin, making a purer product and selling it for less.

A report by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington, D.C., shows that Mexico steadily has increased its share of the U.S. heroin market in recent years, and now accounts for 79% of all heroin seized and analyzed. The DEA also has linked Mexico to the distribution of fentanyl, a drug that is "deadly to users" and "a grave threat to law enforcement officials and first responded." Though China...