• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

The Opioid Crisis: The Drug Industry's Triumph over the DEA

Big pharma is clearly to blame, and I think even most Trump supporters know that.

But blaming Mexico for taking advantage of the American demand for other drugs is absolutely infuriating.

Bear with me here, but I find it odd that when it comes to guns, conservatives believe that even if made illegal, the demand for guns in the United States will always create a market that a supplier will fill. But when it comes to cocaine or heroin, it's some how suddenly the suppliers fault. Cutting off the supply never works on something as widespread as drug production. You have to end the demand, and that onus is on America and America alone.
 
Utah Spent $250k on a Surveillance Startup Instead of Life-Saving Drugs

"I wanted to follow up regarding the remaining funds for DEA 360 ($250,000)," Anna Fondario, who manages the Violence & Injury Prevention Program at the Utah Department of Health wrote in a March 2019 email to Brian S. Besser and Ciara Gregovich at the DEA and the Utah Attorney General chief of staff Ric Cantrell. "We previously discussed having the AG's Office invoice us for BANJO related activities. Is this still the case?"

Fondario added: "If not, we've identified a need for an additional supply of naloxone kits to cover a potential two month gap before other funding is available for kits, Would you be interested in using some of this funding for naloxone?"

Later that same day, Besser forwarded Fondario's email to Cantrell and Gregovich, saying: "I want these funds (the whole $250K) to go to Banjo … I thought this was already in progress?"
 
Utah company Banjo is building a massive surveillance system with the help of the state’s attorney general

In November 2018, the attorney general’s office worked to bypass the normal procurement process to secure a sole-source, $750,000 contract with Banjo, according to emails The Tribune obtained through a public records request. A staffer emailed the company asking them to help make a “business case” for why the state should skip the normal bidding process.

“In other words, I must describe the service/product in detail… and demonstrate why there is effectively no competition for this service/product,” the staffer wrote. “Whatever information you can provide in this regard will be helpful, if not critical.”

By July 2019, the company had a $20.8 million, five-year statewide contract, allowing Banjo to ingest huge amounts of state information for its “Live Time” platform.

Reyes and Cantrell have bought into the company’s mission statement — “To save lives and reduce human suffering.” They envision a future where Banjo’s artificial intelligence helps police rescue a kidnapped kid, directs the highway patrol to crashes before someone calls police and alerts firefighters to a blaze moments after it ignites, at the same time relying only on data that doesn’t identify individual people.

The data or “signals” are funneled into a black box artificial intelligence that Banjo and Utah law enforcement agencies say improves response times, although state agencies have yet to cite any real-world examples. Some local police say the platform has helped tangentially so far.

But one big question seems to be unanswered in state and city contracts: How does Utah know that Banjo’s data isn’t being misused or hacked? The state has the right to audit Banjo’s performance, it just hasn’t figured out how to do it yet.

Banjo’s lobbyist Bryan Smith used to work for Cantrell when both of them were employed in the Utah Senate. Cantrell was the chief of staff and Smith was his deputy. Smith also was executive director of the Utah Republican Party.

He’s been pitching Banjo’s services to city councils and police departments.
 
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