New Hampshire Republicans Pass Mandatory Sentencing for Fentanyl Traffickers

New Hampshire Democrats are trying to stop Republicans from cracking down harshly on fentanyl traffickers, with one state senator saying the “tough on crime” approach doesn’t work.

The NH Senate voted along party lines Thursday to pass a bill requiring a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years for those convicted of bringing any amount of fentanyl into the state with the intent to distribute, WMUR reports.

State Senate votes, 14-10, along party lines (all GOP senators for, Dems against) to create a five-year, minimum mandatory prison term for those convicted of intent to distribute fentanyl (SB 316). #nhpolitics

— Kevin Landrigan (@KlandriganUL) March 7, 2024

“People are dying from it, and it’s not being made in this state, simple as that,” said Sen. Daryl Abbas (R). “It’s being brought here.”

Democrats unanimously voted against SB 316, arguing that the war on drugs “didn’t work” when tried before.

“I grew up in the ’90s,” said Sen. Becky Whitley (D). “I remember the ‘tough on crime,’ and it didn’t work, right? We continue to have an opioid crisis.”

Two other pieces of legislation were passed with bipartisan support to add mandatory minimums for those who cause fatal fentanyl overdoses and drug possession of over certain amounts.

SB 414 will slap convicted fentanyl dealers with a minimum of ten years to life if someone they distributed the drug to dies, while SB 415 sets minimums for anyone convicted of possessing five ounces or more of drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. 

Some Democrats still objected, saying that the bills are unforgiving of those who are using drugs themselves.

“A judge then is prohibited from even considering the fact that somebody in this particular case may not have been mentally competent because of the use of the drug,” said Sen. David Watters (D). “That’s what’s being taken away here.”

Republican Majority Leader Sharon Carson is adamant about setting mandatory sentences for drug dealers.

“We’ve had the mandatory minimums, but we have moved away from the mandatory minimums, and I would ask all of you what has changed?” she said. “Have we seen drug possessions go down? No, we haven’t.”

Watch — Kari Lake: Fentanyl Coming Across “Wide Open Border” Is a “Weapon of Mass Destruction”

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

While Democrats largely remain complicit in the growing fentanyl epidemic sweeping the nation, Breitbart News’s Peter Schweizer revealed the culprits behind it in his new book, Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans.

“China is killing Americans and working aggressively to maximize the carnage while our leaders remain passive and, in some cases, compliant,” the investigative journalist states.

The book hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list just a week after its release.