Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) told Fox News Digital that imposing harsh penalties on fentanyl dealers is “common sense” after Virginia Senate Democrats defeated just such a bill in committee. Told.
Several Virginia Senate Democrats on Wednesday rejected a bill to blame fentanyl dealers, as the state has seen a spike in opioid overdoses, mostly involving fentanyl.
Youngkin told Fox News Digital on Thursday that “on average, five Virginians die every day from a fentanyl overdose” and that “we face an overwhelming challenge.”
Virginia Democrats reject bill that would impose tougher penalties on drug traffickers
Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
“Those who knowingly and knowingly distribute fentanyl should be prosecuted and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Youngkin declared. “We cannot continue to allow manufacturers and distributors to get away with murder.
“This shouldn't be a Democrat vs. Republican issue. The fentanyl crisis affects us all. It's common sense to hold the manufacturers and distributors of fentanyl accountable.”
Youngkin and Virginia Republicans have made the bill a priority. The bill would expand the ability of drug dealers to be charged with murder in the death of a buyer.
Republicans proposed the bill as a crime deterrent amid a rise in fentanyl overdoses, but committee Democrats who voted down the bill advocated a substance abuse treatment approach and expressed skepticism about tougher penalties. .
“I think the policy difference that we're running into here on the committee is, what's the right way to attack this? And we're going to attack it like we attacked things in the '90s. Will we?'' said Virginia Senate Democratic Leader Scott Surovell.
Virginia Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle said in an interview that the bill would overturn a 2014 court decision that limited the ability of dealers to face felony murder charges no matter how far removed from the user's death. He said it was aimed at
Additionally, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds a record number of high school teens will die from drug overdoses in 2022, a new report says. The committee later rejected the bill.
Mr. Youngkin and the Virginia Republican Party pushed a bill that would expand drug dealers' ability to face murder charges in the deaths of their buyers. (Amanda Andrade-Rose/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Boston researchers found that by 2022, an average of 22 14- to 18-year-olds will die from drug overdoses each week in the United States.
The rate of drug overdose deaths among teens is more than double what it was in 2018, according to the study “U.S. Youth Overdose Crisis.”
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According to the report, a total of 1,125 teens will die from drug overdose or poisoning in 2022, making it the third leading cause of death for teens in the United States after gunshot wounds and motor vehicle accidents. Ta.
“Fewer teens than ever are actively using drugs, yet more teens are dying than ever before,” said Dr. author Dr. Scott Hadland told FOX News. .
Fox News Digital's Bryan Llenas and The Associated Press contributed reporting.
