Editorial: Fentanyl Trafficking Should Be a Crime

The following editorial was written by State Representative Paul Brodeur.

We have made great strides in creating tools and strategies to combat our state’s opiate abuse crisis. Recent initiatives include expanding access to residential and outpatient treatment, supplying the overdose reversing and lifesaving drug Narcan to our first responders, stronger tracking mechanisms for prescription pain killers, and providing programs and funding to newborns exposed to illegal drugs. Now, the legislature is poised to take another important step by curbing the deadly repercussions of fentanyl abuse.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid-based pain killer first developed in the early 1960’s. Medically, it is used to curb pain resulting from major traumas such as childbirth or battle wounds. This painkiller is often administered in a gel based patch delivery system, as well as in lozenge form. It may also be injected intravenously or taken in tablet form. The narcotic makes its way to the streets by theft from pharmacies, medical fraud, and illicit manufacturing.

While recreational use of fentanyl began in the early 1970s, recently, law enforcement has reported a dramatic spike in overdoses and deaths resulting from the drug. If taken in high doses, fentanyl can be lethal all by itself. The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that the effects of fentanyl are one hundred times as powerful as morphine. Many heroin dealers are mixing heroin with fentanyl to cheaply extend or improve their product.

This mix of street heroin and fentanyl is deadly, and police departments across Massachusetts have been struggling to address the resulting overdoses and deaths. To give you a sense of just how rapidly this drug has entered out communities, our state and local laboratories reported 942 fentanyl submissions for analysis in 2013. In 2014, that number, more than tripled to 3,344 submissions. The human cost has been devastating as well. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports 1,250 heroin and opioid deaths in 2014, which represents a 57 percent increase in deaths since 2012. So far in 2015, we have lost 312 neighbors, family members, or children. Fentanyl as a heroin additive is responsible for many of these tragic deaths.

The problem is that, in contrast to state law regarding heroin, trafficking fentanyl is not a distinct crime. While officers may charge an individual with possession, or possession with intent to distribute, there is no current statute to charge offenders with trafficking large amounts of this drug. Thanks to bills that I am proud to co-sponsor, the legislature is
considering establishing fentanyl trafficking as an independent crime. Three major bills deal with this effort differently and we will be discussing what works best for law enforcement, our criminal justice system, and public health in the coming weeks.

What remains unarguable is the devastating effect these drugs have had on our community and the urgency of continuing to improve our response to the Commonwealth’s drug abuse problems. This approach must include prevention strategies, access to treatment, and smart law enforcement initiatives. Drug dealers will continue to invent new ways to sell their products and exploit our most vulnerable. I believe that these fentanyl bills reaffirm our commitment to keeping our children and communities safe by continuously making sure that our public policy reflects a strong commitment by our entire state government to fighting this epidemic.