Old Extemp Speech (Breaking Bad related)

Question: Can Mexico stem the tide of fentanyl trafficking

(Please note this is a really old question. I just liked the question because it was the first one I ever got. Please don’t crucify me. 🙏)

Great entrepreneur and award winning drug dealer Walter White, or the One That Knocks, once said “Jesse, we must cook.” Aside from providing tremendously amazing advice, he’s also Hank Shrader’s brother in law. Now you see, Hank Shrader is a DEA agent, tasked with finding out who this bald, old man is who goes by the name “Heisenberg”
(cough cough it’s Walter) is. For 5 continuous seasons Hank is hot on Heisenberg’s trail, much like the United States and Mexican government. According to Joel Rose, Journalist for NPR News, more than 90% of the illicit fentanyl is seized at the border. Immigration authorities state that nearly all “drug mules” are citizens of the United States. So, to answer the question: Can Mexico stem the tide of fentanyl trafficking, we must first look at who is carrying, help who is struggling, and finally not giving up. 

 According to The White House, The Biden-Harris administration is beginning to take serious actions against the spread of fentanyl into the United States. Much like Hank Shrader must do to stop Heisenberg. Hank Shrader actually began his investigation by going after who was carrying this “Heisenberg Special.” So just like Hank, the Mexican and United States government could work together to solve this growing issue. Also according to the White House, the Biden-Harris administration has begun to use a “Discovering, Disrupting, and Dismantling” approach to firearms into the United States. This is the first step to finding who is carrying these substances, and the first step to solving this issue.  

Addiction is a growing epidemic. Fentanyl addicts are no exception. With the spread of fentanyl they need buyers. By helping those who are struggling with this addiction we can combat the idea of bringing more in. According to the American Addiction Center, more than 150 people die everyday from a fentanyl overdose. In the season 2 penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, Jane Margolis, Jesse’s girlfriend, asphyxiates on her own vomit and dies. Walter watched as she took her last breath. Just like those who are struggling, if Jane got help she could’ve survived. Helping those who are struggling with addiction is a key factor in stemming the fentanyl trafficking. 

Enough of the sad stuff, throughout the 5 seasons of Breaking Bad, Hank Shrader did not give up on finding Heisenberg. Through every dead end, his injuries, and mineral collections he did not give up. According to Tammy Baldwin, United States senator for Wisconsin, following through on this investigation and not giving up is the key to stopping this epidemic. Hank Shrader actually found out it was Walter eventually… through using his restroom. Yes, his restroom. Walter actually left a book in there by Walt Whitman that was a gift from a guy who Walter actually ended up killing. Hank wouldn’t have found this out if he gave up though. Breaking Bad, though being crude, and unrealistic, is a shining example of how not giving up can solve these issues. Finding the curator is done by not giving up and working your way up the ladder.

Through finding who is carrying, offering help to those struggling, and not giving up, not only Mexico, but the United States can help stem the tide of fentanyl trafficking. Much like Hank Shrader did for the methamphetamine epidemic.