California Imposes Harsher Punishment for Fentanyl Possession

“AB 701 allows us to finally take illegal fentanyl distribution as seriously as we take heroin and cocaine distribution,” the lawmaker told The Epoch Times.

Various forms of fentanyl. Courtesy of the University of Houston

While multiple fentanyl bills introduced in the Legislature this year designed to increase penalties for distribution were killed by lawmakers, one proposal made it to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where he signed it into law Oct. 8.

Assembly Bill 701, authored by Assemblyman Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton), strengthens penalties for those convicted of possessing at least one kilogram of fentanyl—enough of the drug to kill 500,000 people, according to Drug Enforcement Administration calculations—by adding the synthetic opioid to a list of existing controlled substances regulated by California law.