SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers are responding to a surge in fentanyl overdoses and deaths in their cities with a list of bills that include imposing stronger penalties for distributing the synthetic opioid and easing access to safer consumption and treatment.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the fentanyl epidemic is an urgent public health crisis. There is also no doubt in my mind that we have not acted with adequate urgency to address that," said Assembly Member Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) during a press conference Tuesday to unveil Assembly Bill 2246, a measure to strengthen punishment for distribution and possession. "I think it's important for us as a Legislature to turn the page on that and act urgently now to protect our kids."
The proposal would allow prosecutors to pursue a sentence of 20 years to life for those who distributed fentanyl that resulted in a deadly overdose, and would make it a felony to possess 2 or more grams of the opioid. The measure would also add sentence enhancements for selling fentanyl in areas around children or on social media. And it would classify fentanyl distributed for illicit use as a Schedule 1 drug, a label used by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for narcotics that don't have an acceptable medical use and are the most likely to be abused.
