The New York Times | May 20, 2022
But synthetic drugs are a major shift in that battle. Regina LaBelle, the former acting drug czar for President Biden, told me their rise was her office’s “worst nightmare.” The traditional war on drugs largely focused on stopping the flow of drugs grown on farms. It did not work perfectly, but it had a significant effect: One expert estimated that prohibition increased the price of heroin and cocaine by 10 to 20 times, so users were less likely, or able, to buy them.