A new Texas law will up the criminal penalties for fentanyl distribution, including allowing prosecutors to seek a murder charge in connection with fentanyl-related deaths.
The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed Wednesday afternoon, will increase criminal penalties for selling and distributing fentanyl. House Bill 6 also allows prosecutors to go for a murder charge for a person who manufactures or delivers fentanyl when someone dies from it. The bill is set to go into effect on September 1st.
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“Fentanyl is an epidemic that very simply, is taking too many lives,” Abbott said during the bill signing ceremony. “Because of the courageous partnership of grieving family members Texas legislators and our office, we are enshrining into law today new protections that will save lives in Texas.” The bill will also add “Fentanyl Poisoning” or “Fentanyl Toxicity” on a death certificate if a lethal amount of the substance is found in a toxicology report.
A lot of people all over the U.S have died from fentanyl and it seems it’s still getting worst.
We previously shared a story on how San Bernardino cops seized over 20,000 fentanyl pills following a drug bust.
According to the San Bernardino Police Department, three people were stopped by narcotics officers for violating vehicle code violations, after which they found thousands of fentanyl pills alongside $1,200 in cash, half an ounce of cocaine, and a weapon during their search.
The man who was driving the car was already said to have been on federal probation at the time of his latest arrest and the trio face is now looking to face multiple felony charges. The San Bernardino County Public Health Department has since released a health advisory, stressing what could potentially be a high rate of deaths from fentanyl-related overdoses.
While police are said to have seized 20,000 pills, it’s unclear how many may have already been sold out prior to the traffic stop.