Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is proposing a bill that will allow prosecutors to issue stricter prison terms for dealers of fentanyl, a substance he called a “weapon of mass destruction.”
Cotton introduced the legislation Thursday along with a number of Senate colleagues, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska.
The bill significantly reduces the amount of fentanyl a person must have in their possession to trigger mandatory sentencing minimums for narcotics trafficking, Arkansas Online reported.
They argue this will be crucial for helping local law enforcement fight against the relentless efforts of fentanyl traffickers and distributors, giving them the legal tools to keep dealers off the streets.
Cotton said at a news conference Thursday that fentanyl is, “as much like a weapon of mass destruction as it is a drug.”
“It killed more than 20,000 Americans last year and has been a driving force behind the opioid crisis in the United States,” Cotton said in a news release.- READ MORE
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