Mother of fentanyl poisoning victim responds to new proposed legislation

Little Rock, Arkansas – Following Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ endorsement of a bill that would toughen penalties for people who deal with fentanyl, discussion on social media exploded.

The proposed legislation would prosecute drug dealers who sell products that cause overdoses with murder, sentence traffickers to life in prison, and fine fentanyl traffickers to up to 60 years in jail and a $1,000,000 fine.

“The deadliest drug on our streets today,” Sanders said.

Every day, hundreds of people around the nation pass away from fentanyl poisoning, which is currently an epidemic.

Fentanyl-laced cocaine caused Staci James to lose her son, age 22, in 2019.

“He had no idea he was getting it and he ended up with 5 times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system,” James said.

She was thrilled to learn that Governor Sanders supported legislation that would have increased the penalty for drug use and drug-related offenses.

“I’m just excited that we are actually going to make headway,” and “it makes me feel less alone and I can’t help but sit here and speak for the rest of the families, anything that happens once this goes through, any conviction, that’s justice for my loss,” James stated.

Governor Sanders declared her support for the legislation that would toughen the penalty for drug dealers during the press conference.

“Arkansas will charge drug dealers if they deliver drugs that cause an overdose, for the most heinous those who traffic fentanyl to children, we will charge them with life in prison,” Sanders said.

“Whether it’s someone that knew they were getting fentanyl or not, it’s murder, this is a poison, there is no safe dose,” James said.

Although Staci James expressed her regret that her son had abandoned her, she was grateful to be in Arkansas.

“We want the lowest death rates, we want the highest recovery rates, and this is how it starts, I’m so proud to be from Arkansas,” James said.