Morrisey Signs Lauren’s Law, Stiffening Drug Trafficking Penalties

Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a bill into law Thursday that sharply increases the penalties for drug dealers in West Virginia. 

The signing ceremony took place at Lauren’s Wish, a Morgantown non-profit organization named in honor of Lauren Cole, a young woman who died in 2020 after taking drugs she didn’t know contained fentanyl.  

“The criminals responsible for her death, they’re currently serving a 15-year sentence. Quite frankly, I don’t believe that’s enough time for such a heinous act and something that’s more synonymous with murder than a drug deal,”  Morrisey said.

Lauren’s father told the crowd gathered for the ceremony that people who sell deadly drugs shouldn’t immediately be back on the streets.

“When I first learned about the individual, one of the individuals, that sold to Lauren, had been charged and arrested over five times for selling fentanyl. He should have never been on the street,”  Michael Cole said. “And when I learned that, I made a decision. We’re going to do something about this. We’re not going to let this continue.” 

The law, originally Senate Bill 196,  sharply increases the penalties for transporting fentanyl into West Virginia, and creates a new offense – punishable by up to 40 years in prison – for delivery of drugs that result in death. 

“Today, we take a major step forward on enforcement, and at the end of the day, this is about sending a message to those drug dealers,” Morrisey said. “We’re going to constantly be looking for you. We’re going to be targeting you, and by God, we’re going to hold you accountable. If you come into the state of West Virginia, you try to harm our people, you are going to be in prison for a very, very long time.”

Fentanyl is  just one of the six drugs now targeted for much stiffer penalties under the new law.