(The Center Square) — Fentanyl dealers would face tough new criminal penalties under a proposal filed by a Republican New York congressman, which calls for charging those convicted of trafficking the drug with attempted murder.
The Fentanyl Kills Act, refiled by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is the latest proposal aimed at cracking down on the sale and distribution of the synthetic opioid. The drug has been tied to Mexican drug smuggling cartels and remains a major driver of the nation’s deadly opioid crisis. Under the proposal, those convicted of trafficking in the drug could face a life sentence in federal prison.
Lawler, who represents several upstate New York counties, said the proposal is about “accountability” and “making sure that those who profit off the destruction of our children, our neighbors, and our communities pay a price equal to the devastation they cause.”
“Those who traffic fentanyl know exactly what harm is done by the drug and the priceless cost of lives taken by the deadly substance,” the Hudson Valley lawmaker said in a statement. “Too many families in New York and across America have suffered the unimaginable loss of a loved one to fentanyl.”
Fentanyl is commonly mixed with other narcotics and is considered more than 50 times more powerful than street-level heroin. It is both odorless and tasteless, making detection of the compound by law enforcement difficult.
More than 54,743 Americans died of opioid-related overdoses in 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl is blamed for nearly 60% of the fatal overdoses, the federal agency says.
Amid the scourge of opioids, states and the federal government have been toughening drug trafficking laws to target fentanyl suppliers.
The Trump administration has blamed former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for allowing large quantities of the synthetic drug to be smuggled into the country in recent years.
In July, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill permanently adding the synthetic opioid fentanyl sold on the street to the list of controlled substances, which he said will make it easier to prosecute fentanyl traffickers.
The HALT Fentanyl Act adds fentanyl derivatives to Schedule 1, which also covers drugs such as heroin and LSD that have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Under the law, those caught trafficking fentanyl face a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence in prison.
Trump signed an executive order in August authorizing the use of military force against specific Latin American criminal organizations involved in trafficking drugs. The Trump administration recently deployed three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela, with the authority to interdict drug shipments.
