Mass. AG Seeks Law To Make Fentanyl Tracking A Crime

“It is about dealers adding to the heroin to make it stronger and at the same time create a killer drug”.

Attorney General Maura Healey is pushing a bill that would make trafficking of the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, her office announced today.

Its effects mimic morphine and heroin, and drug abusers are often unaware of the lethal mixture.

State law now has statutes addressing the possession of fentanyl, but the language does not address trafficking large amounts of it. Healey’s bill, which has 56 co-sponsors, would spell out the crime of trafficking of fentanyl for amounts greater than 10 grams, according to her office.

In June, Healey’s office charged two individuals allegedly involved in a fentanyl and heroin packaging and distribution operation involving more than $1 million worth of drugs, including nearly one kilogram of fentanyl.

Healey said the state must balance offering treatment to those addicted to opioids with a tough approach to those trafficking in the substances for profit.

The reality is that many heroin users don’t even know that the drugs that they’re using contain fentanyl.

“This is important legislation that I truly believe will make a difference here in our state”, said Healey. Fifty-six state lawmakers have signed on in support of the legislation.

Rep. John Fernandes (D-Milford), the House co-chair or the Judiciary Committee, said the bill separates the traffickers from users who he says needs to be diverted out of the criminal justice system. “By making the trafficking of this extremely unsafe drug illegal, we can help give law enforcement the tools they need to get these drugs off our streets and out of the hands of those struggling with addiction”.

The legislation is something law enforcement officials “drastically need”, according to Norwood Chief of Police William Brooks, who serves as vice president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

Fentanyl is a powerful drug that’s highly addictive.

“It’s throughout the state. It is you, me, a judge, everybody”, she said.

” Fentanyl is about greed”, said Sullivan”.