The Alaska House passed a bill yesterday that would increase penalties for people who distribute fentanyl, other opioids and methamphetamine.
Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, speaks in favor of a bill that would increase the penalties for certain drug offenses.
The legislation comes as overdose deaths related to fentanyl — a powerful synthetic opioid — surge in Alaska., 145 people died of fentanyl overdoses in 2021. That’s a more than 400% increase in four years. “If individuals come in to our state and want to distribute a substance as deadly as fentanyl and somebody dies, prison is where they deserve to be,” he said.
Some legislators argued the bill was too broad, since the penalties for distribution would also apply to drugs other than fentanyl, such as oxycodone, which is more common. Rep. Jennifer Armstrong, D-Anchorage, said there’s no evidence that stricter jail sentences reduce overdoses.
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