SANTA ANA, Ca. (April 24, 2023) – Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes today released the following Op Ed:
In 2018, I testified in support of legislation we sponsored to increase penalties for those trafficking pure fentanyl into our communities. Ironically, I was told by senators on the Public Safety Committee this legislation was unnecessary for two reasons: No one was dying from fentanyl and it is always trafficked mixed with other narcotics, such as heroin and cocaine. Those outlandish statements were not true then and they certainly are not true now. These beliefs have painted a distorted reality of California’s fentanyl crisis.
The reality is we have a demonstrated history of legislators ignoring this epidemic in our community that continues to take lives and devastate families. Despite bipartisan support, the legislator sits still, and despite outcry from families and proposals from law enforcement, lawmakers stay quiet.
Last month the California Senate Public Safety Committee once again rejected legislation to address this crisis by voting down Senate Bill 62, which sought to increase sentences for those trafficking large quantities of fentanyl. They also rejected the bi-partisan Alexandra’s Law that would have required a statewide admonishment be given to those convicted of selling fentanyl. The proposed admonishment would have made clear that if the person convicted continued to sell fentanyl, and someone died as a result, they could be prosecuted for homicide. Three members of that committee, Senators Scott Weiner, Nancy Skinner and Steven Bradford, have now rejected the proposal to hold fentanyl traffickers accountable six times since 2017. Over that same period, deaths from fentanyl have increased exponentially, which they continue to deny. The Assembly Public Safety Committee has taken a similar approach to their Senate colleagues on accountability measures.
According to the California Department of Public Health, in Weiner’s San Francisco County, deaths increased nearly 2,000 percent from 19 in 2017 to 391 in 2021. Skinner’s Alameda County saw a 2,550 percent increase in deaths from six to 159. Bradford’s Los Angeles County saw the largest increase in lives lost, with deaths increasing from 117 to 1,396. Statewide our fentanyl-related deaths went up nearly 1,300 percent from 431 to 5,961. The committee’s strategy of blatant neglect is not working, and their collective efforts make California’s communities less safe.
The Public Safety Committee justifies their opposition by alleging the proposals risk a return to the “mass incarceration” policies of the past. Additionally, they believe current appropriate penalties already exist to hold traffickers accountable. This ideological narrative does not match the reality of the fentanyl crisis. You cannot defend the sheer volume of fentanyl flooding our state from south of the border, often in pure form.
In 2022, we seized 449.9 pounds of fentanyl and 405,283 pills containing fentanyl. While we resolutely work to target the supply, we need legislative support. This means tougher sentences to take traffickers off our streets and increased actions against the drug cartels across the southern border. It has been nearly a decade since the decriminalization of drug crimes. The results have been a snowballing effect of tragedy.
One senator argued the focus should be on “causation, prevention and treatment.” In Orange County, we are doing our part. Beyond enforcement efforts, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department employs a robust drug education and prevention program in more than 40 schools. We also provide a jail-based addiction treatment program that serves more than 900 inmates every day.
I will never ignore the fact that America’s addiction crisis continues to result in a heavy demand for illicit narcotics. Investment in drug treatment and education are imperative long-term solutions, but they do not negate the threat posed to our country by cartels and their traffickers right now.
Increased accountability for fentanyl traffickers is a necessary component to end one of the most significant crises facing the health and safety of California residents. California’s state sheriffs cannot alone address the social issues of addiction, mental health crises, and homelessness that have been placed on our shoulders to bear. We can no longer sit still. We can no longer stay quiet. We need legislators to realize their responsibility in implementing strategies to hold accountable those who contribute to these crises, including themselves.
Thus far the legislature has made this the hill they are willing to die on while their constituents are dying around them. Fortunately, this week there is an opportunity for the Legislature to correct their course. The Senate Public Safety Committee will rehear Alexandra’s Law on Tuesday and the Assembly Public Safety Committee has agreed to hear a series of fentanyl bills on Thursday. Passage of the bills, however, is not guaranteed. The legislators need to hear from you today. Please call the Committee members and urge them to support commonsense measures that will save lives and end the fentanyl epidemic.
