Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Governor Baker Signs Fentanyl Trafficking Law

Today, I joined Governor Charlie Baker, AG Maura Healey, Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg for the signing of a bill that creates, for the first time in our state's laws, a penalty for trafficking fentanyl.

Although fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is significantly more potent than drugs such as heroin or morphine, under existing law traffickers can only be charged with the lesser crimes of possession.

Without this law, prosecutors could not charge fentanyl distributors with penalties that reflect the dangerousness of the drug. Under the new law, convictions for trafficking could result in up to 20 years in state prison.