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HARTFORD – State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria joined her fellow colleagues and concerned citizens and organizations at the State Capitol on Tuesday for a press conference to call on the Senate to pass a House bill to strengthen penalties on fentanyl.
“The Senate should be passing this bill immediately,” said Rep. Klarides-Ditria. “The selling and manufacturing of fentanyl is killing to many individuals and we shouldn’t be letting dealers of with a slap on the wrist. Let’s get this bill signed into law before the end of the session.”
House Bill 5524, was introduced by the House Republican Caucus. The bill would change the definition of narcotic substance to include fentanyl the same category as heroin. As the law is currently written, fentanyl is listed as a synthetic drug, which is a lesser penalty.
In a previous release, Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria noted that in 2016 the Derby Police Department stopped a tractor-trailer on Route 34. After searching the tractor-trailer, the police discovered a large amount of fentanyl estimated to be worth $1.5 million. The driver was recently only sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Data from the Chief State Medical Examiner’s Office shows an increase in deaths related to fentanyl from 2015-2018. In 2018, 760 of the 1,017 deaths related to opioids contained a form of fentanyl. In 2015, 189 of 729 deaths related to opioids contained a form of fentanyl.
