Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 1, creating higher penalties for drug offenders when the drug is a fentanyl-related compound.
Increased penalties will be assessed for drug trafficking, drug possession and aggravated funding of drug trafficking when fentanyl is involved. Allen County Prosecutor Juergen Waldick said the bill has been a long time coming. The bill says if a fentanyl-related drug conviction is connected to a homicide, the law requires prison sentences run consecutive, creating a longer time spent in prison. The law could add as many as eight years to a sentence.
"Fentanyl is a much more potent drug than some of the other things we're used to, whether it's cocaine, whether it's marijuana, heroin, so forth," said Waldick. "So fentanyl has caused a lot of damage in the community and because of its potency, the penalties have been increase."
Waldick added, depending on the amount involved, a charge could be bumped up to a higher degree.
