A bill pending in the Alabama Senate would put the penalties for possession of a mixture of synthetic fentanyl and the controlled substances used to make it on par with possession of the deadly drug alone.
“Senate Bill 309 updates our fentanyl law and ensures that any mixtures of fentanyl and any new and emerging synthetic fentanyl analogs that are detected across Alabama — which are oftentimes more dangerous than fentanyl alone — will have the same penalties as pure fentanyl,” bill sponsor Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, told Alabama Daily News. “This will help to deter bad actors from bringing these dangerous drugs into our communities.”
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Angelo Della Manna, director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, advocated for the bill at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last month. The bill was approved there and awaits a Senate floor vote.
Later, Della Manna explained to Alabama Daily News that synthetic fentanyl variations represent a serious public health threat because they can be more potent than fentanyl itself.
“Therefore, a mixture of fentanyl and a synthetic controlled substance fentanyl analogue can be more dangerous than single-component fentanyl in illicit drug samples,” he told ADN.
Della Manna told ADN that in the last year, ADFS has tested thousands of fentanyl mixture cases and more than 60% are a mixture of fentanyl and its immediate precursor, 4-ANPP.
Affect on communities, prison population
And while overdose deaths in Alabama overall have decreased, Della Manna told the committee, state morgues still see two to three a day and 80% of them are because of fentanyl or some combination of the opioid.
“It’s certainly still affecting the communities across the state,” Della Manna said.
Current law does not adequately provide penalties for possession with the intent to distribute or trafficking fentanyl mixtures that are solely comprised of fentanyl and 4-ANPP, Della Manna said.
Weaver’s bill will add 4-ANPP and synthetic fentanyl analogue mixtures to the weight thresholds for both intent to distribute and trafficking charges currently in place for single-component fentanyl cases. Penalties for 14 grams or more of the substances range from a few years to life in prison.
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, noted that the bill would increase the state’s prison population. Albritton, who has advocated for the two new men’s prisons, often points out in committee legislation that will add to the populations.
Della Manna said the bill would not impact the narrow medically prescribed uses for fentanyl that include pain management in hospice settings.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mary Sell and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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