Bergen Pols' Bill To Up Fentanyl-Use Penalties Faces ACLU Challenge

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The American Civil Liberties Union has mounted a campaign against two Bergen County lawmakers's bill that would dole out harsher punishments to people caught with fentanyl in New Jersey.

The ACLU began organizing this week a letter-writing campaign against Senate Bill 3325 — introduced last year by state Sens. Paul Sarlo (NJ-36) and Joseph Lagana (NJ-38) — which they argue would target New Jerseyans of color.

"Lessons from more than 50 years of the drug war have taught us that drug penalties don't deter drug use or sale," the ACLU wrote in an online missive sent Wednesday. "They don't end overdose deaths.

"The only thing that they've ever done is to drive arrests and mass incarceration, particularly among Black and brown communities."

State Sen. Sarlo argues the legislation is not about penalizing people suffering from drug addiction, but penalizing "drug kingpins" who traffic the drug — which this year killed a woman who overdosed at the Shops at Riverside mall — in New Jersey.

"The quantity of fentanyl in this legislation is a very large amount," Sarlo said, "capable of killing those who come in contact with it."

If enacted, Senate Bill 3325 would make possession of 10 grams or more of fentanyl a first-degree crime with sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines of $500,000.

Currently, distribution of one ounce (about 28 grams) or more of fentanyl is a second-degree crime and possession of any amount of fentanyl is a third-degree crime.

Just two milligrams of fentanyl can cause overdose or death, according to University of California Davis Health.

The bill, introduced in November, received a 9-1 vote of approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. It now rests with the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

To become law, the bill must first pass through the state Senate and Assembly and receive the signature of Gov. Phil Murphy.

Murphy is among the recipients of the ACLU-drafted letter urging lawmakers not to pass the bill.

The letter argues decades of history show the threat of jail time is not enough to deter a powerful chemical addition.

It points to data that show Black New Jerseyans are three times more likely to be arrested on drug war-related charges, even though white people use illegal drugs at higher rates.

"S3325 will only exacerbate these disparities and lead to more over-policing in Black and brown communities," reads the letter the ACLU asks supporters to send Gov. Phil Murphy.

"This bill will fuel racial injustice."