Found on Santa Monica streets July 21 early a.m.
Photo: JOHN ALLE – SANTA MONICA COALITION
When Proposition 47 passed in 2014 in California, possession of any drug, including heroin and opiates, became a misdemeanor.
Then, fentanyl was basically unknown unknown on the streets. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection made its first bust of 22 pounds of that drug in 2014. Now, fentanyl on the streets has reached a crisis. From October 2022 to September 2023, 27,000 pounds was intercepted by Border Patrol.
A July 12 L.A. Daily News story (“Ex-Little Leaguer Star Burroughs Died of Fentanyl”) reported that Sean Burroughs, 43, who had also played in the Major League Baseball had dropped his 6-year-old off at a game in Long Beach. Then, he died in his car of a fentanyl overdose.
Knowing how deadly fentanyl is, should the dealer, if found, be convicted of Burroughs murder? Right now, in California, that dealer might receive a two-year prison sentence.
Dubbed the “killer opioid,” fentanyl can look like a prescription pill. It is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Even a minute amount can be lethal.
City officials seemed pleased that the Point in Time Count of the Homeless showed a slight decrease. But, Jason Ward, an economist at the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp., a nonprofit research institute, said in an interview in the L.A. Times in February that he continues to see a “very high rate” of mortality among unhoused people in Los Angeles because of fentanyl.
“‘The fentanyl-related deaths are cutting so deep that the overall homeless population in the city is likely decreasing,’ Ward said.”
In 2022, fentanyl surpassed methamphetamine to become the most common drug type listed as a cause of death in accidental drug overdose deaths in Los Angeles County.
The homeless were not the only victims of fentanyl. Cal Matters reported that from September 2021 to September 2022, the most recent state data, 5,942 people died.
Fentanyl is a schedule 2 drug in California – in the same category as morphine and cocaine. Heroin, LSD and psilocybin are considered schedule 1 because of the high potential for addiction and abuse. (Schedule 3 is pentobarbital and anabolic steroids. Schedule 4 includes Xanax and valium, and Schedule 5 includes cough medicine that might contain some codeine.)
California lawmakers took note of the high rate of fentanyl deaths and passed a few laws (below) in late 2023 to try to address the crisis.
Health and Safety Code 11350 – it is illegal to possess fentanyl in any amount, making it a misdemeanor.
Healthy and Safety Code 11351 – If it can be proved there is an intent to sell fentanyl, it becomes a felony with the possibility of two, three or four years in prison.
Health and Safety Code 11352 – basically trafficking, a dealer my receive, three, four or five years in prison.
Health and Safety Code 11370.4 – additional prison time can be added if the dealer knew of the drug’s effects.
Proponents for Proposition 36 say the current laws do not hold dealers accountable. If Prop. 36 passes there would be:
*Stiffer penalties for knowingly selling or providing drugs mixed with fentanyl without informing the buyer.
*Drug dealers who are warned and who repeatedly sell deadly amounts of fentanyl can be charged with murder if a death occurs.
* Increases mental health and drug addiction treatment programs in communities.
The main difference between the recently-passed state laws, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, and those in Prop. 36 is that if a dealer knowingly distributes fentanyl and a death occurs, that dealer can be charged with murder.
A “yes” vote on Prop. 36 means:
- classifying certain drug offenses as treatment-mandated felonies; which means offenders with multiple drug convictions would be given the option of going into treatment rather than prison.
- increasing penalties for certain drug crimes by increasing sentence lengths and the level of crime.
- requiring courts to warn individuals convicted of distributing illegal drugs of their potential future criminal liability if they distribute deadly drugs like fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Ironically, a July 12 Daily News story that ran on the same page as the death of Burroughs, the father killed by fentanyl (“Newsom Downplays Theft Part of Prop. 47 Initiative, Calling It Reform”) noted that Governor Gavin Newsom said, “I’m very concerned about this drug policy reform [in Prop.36] that takes possession and makes it a felony.”
Found on Santa Monica Streets early a.m. on July 21.
Photo: JOHN ALLE – SANTA MONICA COALITION
Tomorrow look for a story about families who have lost a child to fentanyl and now support Prop. 36.
(Editor’s note: Prop 36 also increasing sentences for theft based on the value of the property stolen and retail theft will be covered in an upcoming story.)