Rep. Hall Aims To Combat Opioid Crisis

Rep. Carol Hall is joined by Enfield Police Captain Fred Hall (Left) to testify before the legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

HARTFORD – State Rep. Carol Hall (R-59) recently joined Enfield Police Captain Fred Hall to testify on legislation to combat the opioid crisis in Connecticut during a public hearing at the State Capitol before the legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

The legislation, H.B. 7292, An Act Concerning The Classification of Drugs and Creating Drug Dealer Civil Liability, looks to increase penalties for drug dealing by reclassifying and redefining certain drugs, to clarify the provisions concerning the dealing of prescription drugs and to create civil liability for actions of drug dealers.

“This bill is a necessary step that we must take to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic in our communities,” said Rep. Hall.  By combining these efforts with the existing efforts of educating our youth and parents and raising awareness amongst our local leaders, we can start to address this epidemic in an effective manner.”

In an effort to further combat the opioid epidemic, Rep. Hall and Capt. Hall advocated for the expansion of the proposed bill to reclassify possession of narcotics as a felony.  In 2015, Governor Malloy signed into law the “Second Chance Society” reforms, which reclassified a number of drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.  As a result, possession of opioids, cocaine and cocaine derivatives are currently classified as misdemeanor crimes.

“The 2015 reclassification of most possession of narcotics offenses to a misdemeanor was well intended in that we did not want individuals with an addiction problem to have a felony conviction on their record for the remainder of their life, but this came with unintended consequences,” Capt. Hall added.  “Generally speaking, this seemed to give the public a perception that possession of narcotics, opiates in particular, is not a serious offense.  Given today’s epidemic, we should not only be focusing on deterrence, but also placing emphasis on pushing individuals to seek treatment.”

Enfield Chief of Police Carl Sferrazza also submitted testimony on H.B. 7292 and the expansion to reclassify possession of narcotics back to being a felony.

“The increase in the frequency of heroin overdoses has risen within our community like we have never seen before,” Sferrazza noted.  “Two weeks ago we had 5 heroin overdoses in the span of 3 hours.  It is my professional as well as personal opinion that now more than ever this legislative body needs to send a clear and unambiguous message to these dealers and those who possess dangerous drugs, that we will not allow this conduct to go unpunished.”

“The unintended consequence of the re-classification of these drugs has had a significant and negative impact on public perception, enforcement and treatment opportunities,” Rep. Hall continued.  “We need to reclassify the possession of these life altering drugs back to a felony until the offender has successfully completed a long term, in-patient treatment program.”

For more information on H.B. 7292, or any legislation that Rep. Hall has proposed or co-sponsored, please visit www.RepHall.com or call (860) 240-8700.