Virginia Republicans announced their top priorities for the new year, with curbing fentanyl deaths among them.
Under current case law, it is difficult to charge a drug dealer with the murder of a user who died from fentanyl they had purchased unless they are in the proximity of that dealer, according to GOP legislators.
State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R-New Kent) told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Virginia hopes to address that legislative insufficiency.
“This [law] would say if you sell the drugs, it doesn’t matter if you’re in physical proximity,” he said.
In 2022, the Old Dominion ranked 14th among states for total fentanyl-related deaths, with 1,973 fatalities, and was positioned near the national average in terms of death rate per capita, according to CDC data.
For comparison, neighboring West Virginia leads the nation in fentanyl deaths per capita, but total deaths were 1,084, less than Virginia.
Seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to OnePillCanKill Virginia.
A representative for Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he believes prosecuting fentanyl dealers should receive bipartisan support:
“As Governor Youngkin has said time and time again, any person who knowingly and intentionally distributes fentanyl should be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” spokesman Christian Martinez told Fox News Digital.
“We cannot continue to let makers and dealers get away with murder – and it is time Democrat lawmakers side with victims’ families over fentanyl makers and dealers.”
In April, Youngkin signed Obenshain’s prior fentanyl-related bill, SB 469, which made unlawful possession, purchase or sale of encapsulating machines for the purpose of producing illicit drugs a Class 6 felony.
It also imposed felony penalties for subjects who allow a minor or mentally incapacitated person to be present during the manufacture of any substance containing fentanyl.
“People are dying in every corner of Virginia, of every socioeconomic background, that means there’s people out there peddling this poison. I was proud of our bipartisan effort last year to crack down on pill presses and their deadly effects and I hope that our colleagues will bring the same bipartisan spirit to this effort,” Obenshain told Fox News Digital.
