Californians are dying from fentanyl. Can lawmakers save lives without a new ‘war on drugs’?

As fentanyl overdoses continue to kill Californians, Democrats in the state Capitol searching for solutions are caught between grieving families and communities still recovering from the state’s failed “war on drugs.”

Emotional Capitol committee hearings have forced lawmakers to confront the pain of both groups.

The relatives in attendance hold large photos of loved ones who died from overdoses. They tell lawmakers of rushing to emergency rooms and opening college acceptance letters their children will never celebrate.

The families urge action. They want stronger punishments for those who sell fentanyl, sometimes killing customers who think they’re consuming a different, less-deadly drug.

On the other side are activists who hold signs that say, “No new war on drugs.” They talk about the harm caused by punitive drug sentencing laws from the 1980s and 1990s, which disproportionately locked up Black and brown Californians and caused generational trauma.

They say the state should fund education, community engagement and public health efforts to the same extent it funds prisons.

Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, on Thursday tried to consider the concerns of both sides after agreeing to hear fentanyl bills in a special meeting, reversing his previous decision to block them from moving forward.

“It’s really time to unite the fight against fentanyl and drug abuse,” Jones-Sawyer said. “It’s time to unite our efforts and not divide our efforts. We can no longer be in partisan camps anymore. We can no longer sit with one side against the other. We’ve got to have an honest dialogue with one another.”

Debating fentanyl policies

Thousands of Californians fatally overdose on fentanyl every year. The drug is stronger than heroin and morphine, and sellers also cut it into other substances. This means some people intend to buy one drug, and unknowingly ingest fentanyl.

More than 6,800 Californians died from opioid overdoses in 2021, and nearly 84% of those deaths were fentanyl-related, according to the California Department of Public Health.

While Democrats try to find a way to deal with the crisis, Republicans are using the moment to their advantage.

The Public Safety committee on Thursday advanced a handful of bills, but those aimed at enacting stiffer penalties for fentanyl dealers did not move forward.

This prompted Assembly Republicans to send out a news release claiming “radical Democrats” are “(siding) with drug dealers.”

“This is not like all the other drug circumstances that we’ve faced in our society before,” said Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, during the committee hearing. “This is a poison, and most users have no idea what they are ingesting. That’s a completely different matter. And we need to focus on this behavior in a very serious way. And adding consequences is not too much to ask for.”

To many Democrats, more punitive sentencing laws would represent a backslide. The state has spent the past decade-and-a-half working to reduce severe prison overcrowding and reform the harsh sentencing laws that led to mass incarceration.

“I can’t support any measures today that feel like aimless, patchwork solutions rooted in failed strategies of the past when people are calling for comprehensive and innovative solutions,” said Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles.

CA Democrats advance some bills, block others

To Californians such as Laura and Chris Didier — whose 17-year-old son, Zachary, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020 — the drug is a new and unique enemy. The Rocklin teen, who the Didiers say didn’t have a history of drug use, bought what he thought was a Percocet pill from a dealer on social media app Snapchat.

The pill turned out to contain fentanyl, which killed Zachary. The man who sold him the pill is serving a 17-year prison sentence.

The parents attended the Public Safety Committee hearing, where Chris testified in favor a bill.

“It’s not OK when so many people are dying,” Laura Didier said after the hearing. “This is a different crisis than we’ve had before. We didn’t have teenagers dying in their bedrooms with deceptive practices and social media dealers in everybody’s pocket.”

Even so, Assembly members on Thursday did not advance three more bills to add crimes and increase penalties related to fentanyl dealing. Two of the bills came from Democrats, showing the party is not entirely in agreement when it comes to fentanyl.

One measure from Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego, would have added a three- to five-year prison enhancement for fentanyl dealers who cause “great bodily injury” to customers.

A bill from Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, would have increased penalties for those in possession of certain amounts of fentanyl.

The committee held for further study a bill from Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, that would have made selling fentanyl on a social media platform a crime.

Members did advance three bills from Democrats Jasmeet Bains of Delano, Freddie Rodriguez of Pomona and Carlos Villapudua of Stockton.

Bains’ bill creates a fentanyl task force, and Rodriguez’s measure directs the State Threat Assessment Center and the California Office of Emergency Services to support local efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.

Villapudua’s bill would apply sentencing enhancements that already exist for those convicted of other drug possession crimes to fentanyl.

Members conditionally advanced a bill from Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, that would prohibit fentanyl possession for a person armed with a gun. Jones-Sawyer told Soria she needs to continue working with committee members to iron out details before the bill continues through the legislative process.