The Texas Senate voted unanimously in favor of a bill allowing people who manufacture and distribute fentanyl that leads to someone’s death to be charged with murder in certain circumstances last week.
Filed by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), Senate Bill SB 645 garnered the support of the entire chamber recently, being sent to the House without a single dissenting vote on March 15.
The bill would serve two primary purposes. First, it would require that deaths confirmed to be from fentanyl would be listed as “Fentanyl Poisoning.”
Second, it would increase the penalties for many drug-related crimes, including when someone “knowingly manufactures or delivers a controlled substance listed … and an individual dies as a result of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the individual’s body.”
A Senate press release explained that, under the proposed legislation, “If someone dies from fentanyl made or sold by a defendant, then the penalty enhances to a second degree felony, and in extraordinary circumstances … prosecutors could charge dealers with murder, a first degree felony that can mean life in prison.”
This legislation comes as Texas has been rocked by a wave of fentanyl deaths, leading Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to designate legislation like Huffman’s bill an emergency item, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Data from the Texas Department of State Health Services show that fentanyl-related deaths have skyrocketed in recent years, going from 210 deaths in 2018 to 942 in 2022. In 2021 an all-time high of 1,612 deaths was recorded.
“Over the past decade, fentanyl that is made and distributed illegally … and other illegally made synthetic opioids have been increasingly found in the drug supply,” the National Institute on Drug Abuse has noted. “During this time, fentanyl and related substances have contributed to a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States.”
To address this, Abbott has dedicated increased resources to border security, founding Operation Loan Star, among other programs.
Since its inception, Operation Lone Star “has led to over 357,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 26,000 criminal arrests, with more than 23,000 felony charges reported,” according to the governor’s office.
Additionally, “In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 367 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.”
This amount of fentanyl would be enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez asked, “How many more Americans are we going to lose with this continued disaster, with fentanyl coming across our border and these cartels that are more powerful than ever before?”
“Something needs to be done. There’s enough rhetoric and talk, but it’s time for the federal government to take responsibility and go after these organizations with a designation of terrorist organizations,” Olivarez argued, per a press release.
Sen. Huffman’s bill will now be sent to the House for consideration and approval.
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