World | Tue Apr 5, 2016 5:05pm EDT

Bill to toughen sentences for fentanyl dealers advances in California

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. | BY SHARON BERNSTEIN

A bill increasing penalties for possessing large amounts of the potent narcotic fentanyl in California cleared its first legislative hurdle on Tuesday, after 10 people died from overdoses in the Sacramento area alone in the past two weeks.

The measure passed unanimously in the state Senate's Public Safety Committee, despite a broader effort by majority Democrats to shorten sentences for non-violent drug crimes as part of an effort to reform the state's overcrowded prison system.

"This bill is aimed at major narcotics traffickers," said Republican Senator Patricia Bates, who introduced the bill. "We’re going after cartel-type organizations that are in it for the money and don’t care how many lives it costs."

The measure, which now goes to the state Senate's Appropriations Committee, would add fentanyl to a list of drugs including heroin and cocaine for which prosecutors can seek to lengthen sentences typically imposed if someone is convicted of possessing more than a kilogram.

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