Penalty shot

Dealers to kids: Drop dead

THERE are all kinds of reasons for parents to be scared to death these days. The days of kids walking out of the house after Saturday morning cartoons and staying gone— and out of touch—until the street lights come on are long gone.

Before Jonesboro, who ever heard of a shooting at school? Ride your bike across town to the movies? Are you crazy, kid?

Now comes this new drug fad/mistake/horror show. It’s called fentanyl. And sometimes the kids who take it don’t even know they’re taking it. The damnable people who put fentanyl on the street make it so it looks just like other drugs, maybe one that some kid has taken several times at the after-game party on a Friday night.

But in this game of Russian roulette, one night he picks up a pill he thinks is, say, Oxycodone or Percocet and . . . drops dead.

The Washington Post reports that 88 percent of all the opioid overdose deaths in this country are caused by fentanyl. Last year the Drug Enforcement Administration said it picked up 379 million “potentially fatal doses” of fentanyl off the streets in 2022, enough to kill every person in the country. The feds say they’re only stopping 5-10 percent of what’s coming over the border from Mexico.

Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. The feds say about 60 percent of the pills sold on the streets these days has enough fentanyl to kill.

And get this: Illegal fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.

Parents who aren’t scared to death aren’t paying attention.

There is a bill wafting through the Arkansas General Assembly that would hold dealers responsible for overdose deaths tied to their stash. The bill is called the Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act. The governor and the AG support it. We hope a majority of lawmakers do, too,

According to the paper, the legislation would establish a “death by delivery” statute meant to hold dealers responsible for overdose deaths tied to their drugs. Neal Earley’s front-page story said those who deal fentanyl could be charged with “aggravated death by delivery” and face 20 to 60 years or life in prison. And a million-dollar fine.

Senate Bill 283 by Sen. Ben Gilmore and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway is filled with good ideas:

Protections for those seeking medical assistance for an overdose would still apply. Those who market fentanyl to minors by packaging the drugs to appeal to children—“rainbow drugs” they’re called, because of their coloring—could get a life sentence. Fentanyl test strips would no longer be considered paraphernalia. (Better to let the kids test the pills with a strip than with their lives.)

This is a drug problem that often arrives in disguise. When you were young, Gentle Reader, and somebody passed around a joint at the party, there was a zero percent chance that, when it got to you, taking a puff would kill you. That’s what faces this generation.

This fentanyl is dressed up like other drugs, and it waits.

Somebody is behind this. We heard a nonprofit type call fentanyl a slow-motion chemical attack against the United States, and he wasn’t kidding.

The problem can be approached from one end: by having a conversation with every young person you know, and warning them about what’s out there. Government “information campaigns” are often the butt of jokes, but they can help.

But the problem can also be approached from the other end, by making the laws so tough as to make dealers think twice.

It’s doubtful that those big-time drug makers and owners of the labs in Mexico are going to be deterred by any Arkansas state law. But maybe the dealers down the line, those making the actual sale to individuals, will hear the message. Life in prison, buddy. Your stash kills a kid, and life in prison.

Last year, 107,000 Americans died from overdoses. Maybe two-thirds were opioids, the papers say. And no telling how many thought they were taking a Percocet. (Which, if taken illegally, is bad enough.)

Parents should be glad more action is being taken. If 107,000 Americans had been killed in one day’s attack, we’d mobilize against the enemy. We’d have 24/7 coverage for weeks. The military would be called upon to help. Even—gasp!— sports events would be canceled to address the strike against the nation.

We need to recognize this sneak attack against our young people, our kids. And do something about it.

SB 283 sounds like a good battle plan.