Don't blame dealers for fentanyl deaths. Blame drug enforcement agencies.

In an April 1 federal indictment, two men, Antonio Venti and Michael Kuilan, were accused of supplying the drugs that killed transgender activist Cecilia Gentili in February. Among other charges, Venti and Kuilan are accused of causing Gentili's death by distributing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, a crime punishable by a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.

Gentili “was tragically poisoned in her Brooklyn home [by] fentanyl-laced heroin,” said Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a press release. “Fentanyl is a public health crisis. Our office will spare no effort to seek justice for the many New Yorkers who have lost loved ones to this deadly drug.” The indictment “sends a strong message to anyone who profits from poisoning our communities with illegal drugs,” added New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban. “It is imperative that we continue to hold dealers accountable for their callous actions.”

This self-righteous attitude obscures the role that drug warriors like Peace and Caban played in Gentili's murder. If Venti and Kuilan were “callous,” how should we describe public officials dedicated to enforcing laws that predictably cause tens of thousands of deaths like these every year?

These laws create a black market where the composition and potency of drugs is uncertain and highly variable. They also push dealers toward highly potent drugs like fentanyl, which are easier to conceal and smuggle. As a result, drug users like Gentili tend not to know exactly what they are consuming, increasing the risk of a fatal mistake. The “poisoning” that Peace and Caban denounced is therefore a consequence of the policies they proudly enforced in this case.

In this context, it would be perverse to blame Gentili for her own death. Peace and Caban instead blamed Venti and Kuilan, which may seem more plausible until one considers the complexity of the illegal drug trade. As the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) noted, “People who sell drugs rarely know the exact contents of their drug stash or a specific dosage. Research shows that drug mixing typically occurs at much higher levels of the supply chain.”

It is clear that neither Kuilan nor Venti intended Gentili. But the penalties they face are much more severe than the federal penalties for voluntary or involuntary manslaughter and the New York State penalties for involuntary manslaughter. This distinction is based on the legal status of the drugs they sold, not their culpability in Gentili's death.

Such proceedings make a mockery of the justice system. “Drug-related manslaughter laws, mandatory minimum sentences and other severe penalties imposed on people who sell or distribute drugs that result in a fatal overdose primarily punish people who are involved in the sale of small quantities and who often use drugs themselves,” the DPA noted. The New York Times reported that Venti, who had previously been convicted of “petty theft and attempted drug trafficking,” was an electrician who “struggled with drug addiction.” Even drug users who simply shared their purchases with friends or relatives were charged with causing their deaths.

These attempts to turn accidental overdoses into homicides are dangerous and morally questionable. They “cost lives because fear of prosecution prevents people from seeking help in an emergency,” argues the DPA. “Prosecution for drug-related homicide can have the unintended consequence of people not seeking medical help when they overdose, increasing the likelihood of death.”

In short, Prohibition created the danger that took Gentili's life. It exacerbated that danger by encouraging the use of additives like fentanyl and the animal tranquilizer xylazine (which was also detected in Gentili's blood). And it made the resulting overdoses more dangerous by preventing prompt intervention. The answer, Peace and Caban say, is zealous enforcement of the same laws that caused this disaster.

Frank Tarentino, special agent in charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, agreed. “Fentanyl is a deadly drug that dealers lace with their products and is responsible for 70% of drug-related deaths nationwide,” he said in Peace's press release. “Drug poisonings take too many lives too soon nationwide, and the DEA is committed to bringing those responsible to justice.”

If Americans truly wanted to hold those “responsible” for drug-related deaths accountable, they would start with the politicians and law enforcement officials who perversely work to make drug use as dangerous as possible.