Flickr/ Dimitris Kalogeropoylos

There were nearly 110,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2022. Opioid addiction and fentanyl laced drugs continue to be an issue across communities, Republican and Democratic, especially since the pandemic which drove Americans further into isolation. 

Here are a few examples of data and stories on bipartisan solutions to the issue:

  • 92% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, and 79% of Independents say reforming the country’s drug laws is important, according to the ACLU (Lean Left).
  • 84% of Republicans and 94% of Dems think marijuana should be legal for medical use, according to Pew Research’s (Center) 2023 polling. 
  • Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the bipartisan Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act in congress which declares fentanyl trafficking a national security threat and requires the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug plan. Furthermore, this will foster collaboration between the U.S. Government and the Mexican military, increasing security operations in Mexico, according to the Washington Examiner (Lean Right). 
  • 86% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans support expanding medication assisted treatment for substance use, which would allow doctors to provide medicine to mitigate the symptoms of withdrawal, according to Data for Progress (Left).
  • 76% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats support increasing access to Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, again from Data for Progress (Left). 

See more examples of common ground on issues where you might not expect to find it:

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging & Bias Assistant at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed by Joseph Ratliff, Daily News Editor (Lean Left bias), and Johnathon Held, Research & Content Intern (Lean Right Bias). 
 

Common Ground, Drugs, Bipartisanship, Marijuana, Fentanyl