Texas Bill Enables Prosecutors to Hand Down Murder Charges for Producing, Selling Fentanyl
The Texas Senate voted unanimously on March 15 to pass a bill that would increase the penalties for the manufacturing or distribution of fentanyl, including tougher penalties when an individual overdoses and dies.
Senate Bill 645 was introduced by state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican, as part of the state’s tough-on-drugs approach amid the opioid epidemic.
Under the bill, the penalty for manufacturing or delivering less than one gram of fentanyl would increase from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony.
In cases where an individual overdoses and dies from fentanyl, the penalty would be enhanced to a second-degree felony, a move designed to address the “one-pill scenario,” in which individuals die after taking just one of the lethal pills….