A 15-year-old girl died of a fentanyl overdose a year ago in California. A new California law makes drug dealers selling to "customers" who die from their overdose, a felony with far more serious penalties. These penalties now include the possibility of second-degree murder charges. This week in California, what is believed to be the first-ever conviction of a drug dealer under this new law has become a reality.
Friday the Placer County California District Attorney's office confirmed that a 21-year-old man has been convicted of second-degree murder for this crime. "This conviction could be a watershed moment in the war on fentanyl," said former Santa Clara County District Attorney Steven Clark. He referred to the selling of fentanyl as a national health crisis, and the hope is that this new law, and this conviction, may lead to a more serious control of this crisis in other states nationwide.
This conviction might also signal some more far-reaching consequences in other areas. For example, gun manufacturers, sellers, and promoters, such as the National Rifle Association, are probably not going to like this new development very much. For many years they have been fighting against any such "responsibilities" surrounding the sale of guns. And if fentanyl deaths are a national crisis (and yes, they are), what are our soaring firearms deaths?
