Tougher Laws: Gov. Katie Hobbs Approves Minimum Prison Terms for Fentanyl Traffickers in Arizona
Debarylife – Repeat offenders may receive terms ranging from 10 to 20 years, while those found guilty of possessing more than 200 grams of the narcotic may receive sentences of five to ten years.
Hobbs stated at a news conference that 71% of non-fatal overdoses in Arizona occur in 2024 alone and contain fentanyl. “Fentanyl causes nearly three deaths per day on average in Maricopa County alone. There must be action taken.”
Following the disclosure that state troopers had found more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl in just six months, the announcement was made. Some consider the bill to be a positive move, but others believe more work needs to be done.
Mandatory minimum terms, in the opinion of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice’s Katie Gipson McLean, won’t be sufficient to discourage offenders engaged in drug trafficking.
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“I would love for somebody to show evidence that this is the type of law that would change sales of fentanyl or fentanyl use,” McLean stated.
Eric Andrews, an Arizona DPS sergeant, stated that action was required to stop the flow of drugs into the state.
It is well known that one of the primary routes used by the cartels is Arizona. Thus, it’s obvious that here in the state of Arizona, we’re doing everything within our power to keep an eye on it and to shut off that supply as much as possible,” Andrews stated.
“Nothing has taken hold like fentanyl with both the addictive properties of it and just how much we are seeing and how easily it’s produced by the cartels on the other side of the border and then transported up here.”
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At the start of the year, state troopers made the largest narcotics seizure in Eloy’s history when they discovered 208 pounds of the substance, which had a street worth well over $1 million.
The bill will take effect after ninety days. The Ashley Dunn Act was the name of the legislation that Governor Hobbs signed.
Prescott resident Dunn, 26, passed away in May 2021 as a result of fentanyl intoxication. After swallowing only half of a fake medication laced with fentanyl, she became poisoned.
Her mother, Josephine, stated that she had been in critical care for 86 days.
“There are truly no words to express that agony. I have shed more tears than an ocean, I can assure you,” Josephine said to FOX10.
She continued by saying that additional work, including education and addiction treatment, was required to combat the fentanyl issue.