An Arizona senator introduced a bill that would allow law enforcement to prosecute fentanyl dealers for first-degree murder. We are in the midst of an ongoing opioid epidemic across the state and throughout the country.
Under this proposal, anyone who supplies, transports, or sells fentanyl could face life imprisonment or the death penalty in Arizona. If a drug user buys a synthetic opioid and dies from an overdose, harsher penalties come into play.
The text of the bill, introduced by Glendale Republican Anthony Kahn, groups the deadly fentanyl sale with other crimes such as drive-by shootings and arson. Selling now carries a prison sentence.
Opponents of the bill say it targets drug users themselves and does not address the underlying causes of overdose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are responsible for more than 80% of fatal opioid overdoses in the United States.
Arizona Department of Health data More than 1,600 people died in the state last year from opioid overdoses.
Twenty-five were in Coconino County and 50 were in Yavapai County.
