There are two contrasting approaches that lawmakers have taken to curbing the fentanyl epidemic: public health and criminal justice. This year, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is aiming for the latter.
A Jones-backed bill, carried by state Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell, would create a separate schedule of offenses for fentanyl possession and trafficking, with longer mandatory sentences and fines than what are already in state code.
“We’re trying to put a little fear into the hearts of the people that are spreading this poison in our communities,” Goodman said.
Under Georgia law, anyone in possession of 1 to 4 grams of a substance that contains fentanyl could be subject to up to eight years in prison. Goodman’s proposal would lower that minimum of 1 gram to 250 milligrams and increase the maximum prison sentence from eight years to ten. Additionally, anyone possessing less than 250 milligrams of a substance that contains the synthetic opioid could face up to five years in prison.
Fentanyl trafficking charges, which start at weights of 4 grams, would carry a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a $75,000 fine under the proposal. On the high end, trafficking offenses for weights of at least 28 grams would carry 35 years in prison and $750,000 fines.
Goodman said he’s hoping that stiffer fentanyl penalties will help prevent drug trafficking and perhaps pave the way for the dealers to divulge information about other criminals linked to the illegal trade up the chain.
As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal to some people, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“If other illegal drugs are a BB gun, fentanyl is a nuclear bomb,” Goodman said.
Although Goodman’s measure has drawn support from both sides of the aisle, a few Democratic senators expressed reservations about the mandatory minimums.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, who voted in opposition to the measure, said the mandatory minimums echoed the worst of the country’s war on drugs started under the Nixon administration.
The measure is a shift away from the General Assembly’s approach under former Gov. Nathan Deal, who sought to overhaul Georgia’s criminal justice system.
The bill has since moved to the House for debate, where Goodman said he expects there to be minor tweaks to the bill.
It’s a move that comes as preliminary data shows signs that drug overdose deaths are on a steep decline. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found about 87,000 overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024, a nearly 24% decline in deaths from the year prior. That figure includes fentanyl and other illicit drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
The preliminary findings could mark a turning point in the fentanyl crisis.
And as Republican state legislators take aim at fentanyl trafficking, so does President Donald Trump. The president has used concerns over synthetic opioid trafficking from Mexico and Canada as part of the rationale for placing tariffs on goods coming from those countries. He’s also levied a 20% tax on imports from China that was put in place to stop fentanyl production.
But public health experts warned the approach outlined in bills like SB 79 could be less effective at reducing drug overdoses and helping people with substance use disorders.
“Certainly reducing the supply is important, but what we’ve seen time and time again is that if we just reduce the supply, we often see a substitution,” said Stephen Patrick, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
Patrick said there needs to be a focus on public health through expanded access to drug treatment and opioid reversal medicine.
For example, a measure signed into law last year made naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, more readily available in schools, on college campuses and in government buildings.
“There are two sides to this coin,” Patrick said. “One is particularly for folks with substance use disorder. Ideally we’re getting them into treatment — that’s a clear need.”
Goodman’s proposal expands on a measure signed into law last year that created a new category of felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter under which drug dealers and distributors can be prosecuted.
He said SB 79 is an additional facet to aid in the multifaceted approach to combat the fentanyl crisis.
