Drug overdose penalty hikes heading to Reynolds' desk

DES MOINES — A bill to increase penalties for selling a drug that results in a death and hikes penalties for illicit fentanyl sales is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk.

The Iowa Senate passed House File 595 on a 41-9 vote, giving the bill its final green light and making it eligible to be signed into law by Reynolds, who said she will sign it. All no votes were Democrats.

If the bill is signed into law, a person would receive three times the sentence otherwise imposed by law if they sell or provide a drug to another person that results in that person’s death. The sentence would be doubled if the sale results in serious bodily injury. A person who manufactures an illegal drug in the presence of a minor or sells a drug to a minor would be subject to twice the penalty otherwise imposed by law.

The bill also would heighten the sentence for selling or manufacturing fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid.

Under the bill, selling or manufacturing more than 50 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl would be a Class B felony, punishable by up to 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Sale or manufacture of between 5 and 50 grams would also be a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Sale or manufacture of less than 5 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl would be a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $50,000.

Access to naloxone and similar medications, which reverse the effects of an overdose, would be increased under the bill. The bill would expand who can dispense the medications to include law enforcement agencies, school districts, county health programs and others.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter version of naloxone, under the brand name Narcan, in March.

Reynolds, a Republican, pitched the bill at the beginning of this year's legislative session as a way to curb an increase in overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, in recent years. Fentanyl is about 50 times stronger than heroin. It is often found mixed with other opioids, and it is increasingly found in counterfeit pills designed to look like prescription opioids.

In a statement Monday, Reynolds said she would soon sign the bill, and she placed the blame for an increase in fentanyl presence in the United States on President Joe Biden's administration's enforcement of southern border policies.

“That’s why I’ve taken this fight head on and will sign this bill as soon as it hits my desk,” she said. “While cracking down on drug crimes will help, we know it’s only half the battle. Raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl is the other, and as governor I am fighting on both fronts.”

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While Iowa has among the lowest drug overdose rates in the nation, rates have been rising in recent years, following national trends. In 2021, 475 Iowans died of a drug overdose, and fentanyl was involved in 83 percent of those deaths, according to Reynolds’ office.

Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, who opposed the bill, said increasing penalties would not help address addiction and overdoses, and she urged harm-reduction measures like focusing on treatment and legalizing fentanyl test strips. Fentanyl test strips can test a substance to determine if fentanyl is present, allowing people using drugs to know what is in a substance before using it.

House Democrats offered an amendment to legalize the test strips when the bill passed the House, but the amendment failed largely along party lines.

“I really would love for us to focus on helping the people with the disorder because putting someone behind bars after someone's already dead isn't going to help them,” Weiner said.