Arizona State Representative Quang Nguyen hopes to address the fentanyl crisis by getting tough on drug dealers. To that end, he has introduced HB 2021, new legislation that he says will greatly strengthen penalties for individuals who knowingly traffic or sell fentanyl-tainted drugs that contribute to a person’s death.
HB 2021 classifies drug trafficking homicide as a Class 1 felony.
Nguyen says the bill will give prosecutors “stronger tools in the fight against the deadly illegal narcotic that is killing people at alarming rates.”
“We are in a war to save lives,” said Nguyen. “Fentanyl is an extremely powerful and dangerous drug that’s responsible for killing tens of thousands of Americans each year. It’s deadly impact on Arizonans is growing, and many families in Yavapai County have been destroyed because of it. This is a public crisis, and it needs to stop now. This legislation would update our laws to arm prosecutors with tougher legal penalties that could be used to hold accountable drug traffickers and dealers for overdose deaths.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “Mexican criminal drug networks are mass-producing illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills, using chemicals sourced largely from China, and are distributing these pills through U.S. criminal networks. These fake pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions such as Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax® and other medicines. Criminal drug networks are selling these pills through social media, e-commerce, the dark web and existing distribution networks. As a result, these fake pills are widely available.”
Recent DEA laboratory testing revealed that four out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake pills contain a potentially lethal dose. Moreover, the number of fake pills containing fentanyl has jumped nearly 430% since 2019.