State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-1) is celebrating the passage of House Bill 2132, which toughens sentences for fentanyl trafficking, into law.
The bill lowers the amount of fentanyl required to trigger enhanced prison sentences for dealing the notoriously deadly drug from 200 grams to 100 grams, while also expanding mandatory prison sentences to cover more dealers moving dangerous quantities.
Fentanyl trafficking in Arizona is already a five to fifteen-year sentence, which House Bill 2132 maintains, but lowers the amount an offender was carrying at the time of capture necessary to secure a mandatory sentence.
"Fentanyl is killing people across Arizona. Dealers know exactly what they are selling, and they do it anyway," State Rep. Nguyen said in a press release. "This law lowers the threshold so more traffickers face mandatory prison time. If you are moving this poison in serious quantities, you are going to prison. Arizona is done giving dealers room to operate."
State Rep. Nguyen further emphasized that "public safety is non-negotiable," and "House Republicans are fighting fentanyl dealers because Arizona families deserve safe streets, strong laws, and serious consequences for those who profit from this death and destruction."
Arizona, as a border state, is an infamous hotspot for fentanyl, which the state legislature has battled against.
Last February, Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kris Mayes sponsored House Bill 2733, a bill authorizing Arizona law enforcement to shoot down drones used by the Mexican drug cartels.
"The Mexican drug cartels are using drones to transport fentanyl across our southern border, and sometimes these drones have been seen as far north as 75 miles inside the state of Arizona, and that is just unacceptable," Mayes told Fox News.
At the national level, the Grand Canyon State's Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced the Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act last June, which, as its name suggests, mandates a life sentence or death penalty for fentanyl dealers whose product killed buyers.
