On Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 536 into law, increasing fines and prison time for drug traffickers distributing the deadly opioid fentanyl in West Virginia.
Jeff Sandy, secretary for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said the harsher punishment will put a real fear into out- of-state drug dealers.
“What this bill does is this, someone from Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, they bring drugs across the bridge into West Virginia,” Sandy said. “Their sentences are going to be more than doubled.”
The new law also increases fines and prison time for any adult involving a minor in fentanyl distribution.
This week, the CDC announced that fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for American adults 18-45 years old.