Drugs are a tragedy, and I certainly don't want to minimize the death and devastation they wreak. However, I would argue prohibition laws and strict enforcement are what created the fentanyl epidemic, the broader opioid epidemic, the methamphetamine epidemic, violent drug gangs, and incentives for the wider circles of crime rippling around the drug market today.
Prohibition incentivizes concentrated forms of prohibited goods, whether distilled alcohol or synthetic opiates. The lack of open markets creates an environment for adulteration of goods.
The root problem isn't drugs. It's human suffering. We need to address the suffering with compassion, not enforce prohibitions with authoritarianism. As with the broader border issue, our response needs to be different from the State and it's violence. Beware the Politician's Syllogism. "Something must be done, and this is something, so therefore this is what must be done."
Librarians are also on the front lines seeing poverty, broken families, and addiction. I know people who suffer from addiction. We have tried the political response for decades. It's time to try something better.