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A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 21 March 2023
With overdoses up, states look at harsher fentanyl penalties

Continued from Front Democratic Attorney Gen-
eral Aaron Ford would give
But the strategy is alarming one to 20 years in prison for
recovery advocates who selling, possessing, manu-
say focusing on the criminal facturing or transporting 4
angle of drugs has histori- grams or more of fentanyl
cally backfired, including into the state, depend-
when lawmakers elevated ing on the amount. It’s a
crack cocaine penalties in change for Ford, who has
the 1980s. supported criminal justice
“Every time we treat drugs reforms including a sweep-
as a law enforcement ing 2019 law that, among
problem and push stricter other provisions, raised the
laws, we find that we punish threshold for such penal-
people in ways that destroy ties to 100 grams. It would
their lives and make it hard- also remove fentanyl from
er for them to recover later the state’s “Good Samari-
on,” said Adam Wandt, an tan” law, which exempts
assistant professor of pub- people from criminal drug
lic policy at John Jay Col- possession charges while
lege of Criminal Justice in reporting an overdose.
New York. He said people “What we’ve learned is
behind bars often continue that lowering the thresholds
getting drugs — often with- People whose family members have died from fentanyl overdose stand at a committee meeting for all drugs was overinclu-
out receiving quality ad- on Jan. 19, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. sive,” Ford said.
diction treatment — then Associated Press Harm reduction advocates
emerge to find it’s harder Fentanyl mostly arrives in meaning 1 gram — about Conference of State Legis- are pushing Ford and oth-
to get work. the U.S. from Mexico and is the same as a paper clip latures. ers to rethink their support,
Since 2020, drug overdos- mixed into supplies of other — could contain 500 lethal And in this year, in one leg- arguing the thresholds
es are now linked to more drugs, including cocaine, doses. islative chamber of liberal for longer penalties can
than 100,000 deaths a year heroin, methamphetamine That’s what’s driving some Oregon and one cham- sweep up low-level users
nationally, with about two- and counterfeit oxyco- lawmakers to crack down ber of conservative West — not just the dealers the
thirds of them fentanyl-re- done pills. Some users seek with harsh penalties, along Virginia, lawmakers have law is aimed at — as well as
lated. That’s more than 10 it out. Others don’t know with adopting measures agreed upon tougher pen- some who may not even
times as many drug deaths they’re taking it. such as legalizing materi- alties. In her State of the know they are taking fen-
as in 1988, at the height of Ingesting 2 milligrams of als to test drug supplies for State speech this March, tanyl. They warn that the
the crack epidemic. fentanyl can be fatal, fentanyl and distributing Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, state’s crime labs test only
naloxone, a drug that can a Republican, called on for the presence of fentan-
reverse overdoses. lawmakers to adopt a drug yl, not the exact amount
Before this year’s legis- trafficking bill that includes in a mixture of drugs. Thus,
lative sessions began, a tougher fentanyl sentenc- people with over 4 grams
dozen states had already es. of drugs containing a few
adopted fentanyl posses- In Nevada, where Demo- milligrams of fentanyl could
sion measures, according crats control the Legis- be subject to trafficking
to tracking by the National lature, a bill backed by penalties, they say.q

Biden issues first veto, taking on new

Republican Congress

By ZEKE MILLER and and Biden is gearing up for Critics say environmental,
SEUNG MIN KIM even bigger fights with Re- social and governance
Associated Press publicans on government (ESG) investments allocate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- spending and raising the money based on political
dent Joe Biden issued the nation's debt limit in the agendas, such as a drive
first veto of his presidency next few months. against climate change,
Monday in an early sign The measure vetoed by rather than on earning the
of shifting White House re- Biden ended a Trump-era best returns for savers. Re-
lations with the new Con- ban on federal managers publicans in Congress who
gress since Republicans of retirement plans con- pushed the measure to
took control in January. sidering factors such as overturn the Labor Depart-
He's seeking to kill a Repub- climate change, social im- ment's action argue ESG
lican measure that bans pacts or pending lawsuits is just the latest example
the government from con- when making investment of the world trying to get
sidering environmental im- choices. "woke."
pacts or potential lawsuits Because suits and climate Biden, in a video released
when making investment change have financial by the White House, said
decisions for Americans' re- repercussions, administra- he vetoed the measure be-
tirement plans. tion officials argue that cause it "put at risk the re-
It's just the latest manifesta- the investment limits are tirement savings of individ-
tion of the new relationship, courting possible disaster. uals across the country."q