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An Idaho Law Targeted Fentanyl Dealers. Prosecutors Are Using It to Charge Users, Too
Prosecutors have filed 13 fentanyl trafficking cases under the law, including against people accused of possession, court records show.
- Idaho prosecutors have charged 134 people with fentanyl trafficking since the law took effect on July 1, 2024, allowing authorities to charge individuals possessing at least 4 grams or 100 pills as traffickers.
- Lawmakers enacted House Bill 406 to "shut down the cartels" and combat record overdose deaths, imposing mandatory prison terms of three, five or 10 years for possession of threshold amounts of fentanyl.
- InvestigateWest analysis found 30% of completed cases were dismissed and one-third of 90 cases lacked evidence such as scales, ledgers and small bags commonly considered proof of drug sales.
- Critics including Kellen Russoniello, director of public health for the Drug Policy Alliance, argue the law ensnares addiction sufferers, while prosecutors defend it as necessary accountability for lethal substances.
- Idaho is one of nine states allowing trafficking charges based solely on possession thresholds; Pew Center research found "increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime," suggesting treatment alternatives instead.
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An Idaho law targeted fentanyl dealers. Prosecutors are using it to charge users, too – WTOP News
When two Idaho lawmakers pitched harsher penalties for people caught with fentanyl, they said the new law would target drug dealers — not those struggling with addiction. But two years after the law was implemented, prosecutors have charged at least 30 people with fentanyl trafficking without presenting evidence that they were dealing or distributing the...
·Chevy Chase, United States
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Winnipeg Free Press+9 Reposted by 9 other sources
An Idaho law targeted fentanyl dealers. Prosecutors are using it to charge users, too
When two Idaho lawmakers pitched harsher penalties for people caught with fentanyl, they said the new law would target drug dealers — not those struggling with addiction.
·Winnipeg, Canada
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Total News Sources11
Leaning Left7Leaning Right0Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution64% Left
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources lean Left
64% Left
L 64%
C 36%
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