Legislation Quick Search
03/19/2024 01:20 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20170&cosponId=26138
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: July 9, 2018 01:53 PM
From: Senator Mike Regan
To: All Senate members
Subject: Fentanyl Trafficking Sentencing and Penalties
 
“Three charged in connection to fatal fentanyl overdose in Mechanicsburg” was a headline in the Carlisle Sentinel on June 22, 2018. Four days later, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported: “Two people die in rash of crack-fentanyl overdoses in West Philadelphia”. While we continue to talk about the heroin crisis or the opioid crisis it has quickly become a fentanyl crisis that needs serious attention.

Fentanyl is an inexpensive-to-produce synthetic opioid that is proving more and more deadly as users of drugs such as heroin and cocaine are oblivious to the fact that fentanyl is being mixed with their drug of choice. And the drug dealers selling the fentanyl must be held accountable. For that reason, I will be introducing legislation to target dealers of fentanyl by establishing increased sentencing guidelines and penalties specifically related to the trafficking of fentanyl.

I recently discussed this issue with York County District Attorney Dave Sunday when he was in Harrisburg to testify at Congressman Scott Perry’s Homeland Security Subcommittee’s field hearing on opioids.

York County has been a leader in addressing the opioid issue since DA Sunday and Coroner Pam Gay formed the York County Heroin Task Force – now the York Opioid Collaborative – in 2014. DA Sunday has also established York County as a leader in prosecuting for Drug Delivery Resulting in Death (DDRD).

There has been a commendable effort to not treat drug users as criminals. Instead, the focus has been on getting them the help they need. Drug dealers, however, are a different story. They are making money off of the vulnerabilities of those who are addicted by selling them an already deadly substance mixed with something deadlier.

My goal with this legislation is to give our prosecutors another tool for combatting the impact fentanyl traffickers are having on our communities.

York County has already had more than 80 confirmed or suspected heroin/fentanyl deaths in 2018. “Suspected” simply means the coroner is awaiting official toxicology reports. Of the 50 that are confirmed, almost all involved fentanyl. Take a look at the following information provided by Coroner Gay to see why, despite all of the many efforts across our Commonwealth, drug deaths are increasing.

York County Drug Deaths 2013-2018
2013 – 17 deaths; none of them involved fentanyl
2014 – 62 deaths; 24 of them involved fentanyl
2015 – 65 deaths; roughly half of them involved fentanyl
2016 – 76 deaths; half to three-quarters involved fentanyl
2017 – 138 deaths; almost all of them involved fentanyl
2018 – 50 confirmed deaths so far with 31 suspected; almost all of them involved fentanyl

The county is on track to seeing 160 drug deaths this year, and no doubt, fentanyl will be the reason. I know York County is not alone in this dilemma. Therefore, I respectfully request that you join me in holding accountable those dealing this deadly drug.



Introduced as SB1222