Drug dealers would face manslaughter charges for opioid overdoses under proposed Florida law

I understand why they feel the need to take action, considering how many fools are killing themselves with narcotics, and someone may actually be convicted under this law, but I don't think it's going to stop anyone from buying or selling this stuff if they want to do so.

Agreed. All the other threats to reduce overdoses do not work. Why should this one?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Drug dealers would face manslaughter charges for opioid overdoses under proposed Florida law

I understand why they feel the need to take action, considering how many fools are killing themselves with narcotics, and someone may actually be convicted under this law, but I don't think it's going to stop anyone from buying or selling this stuff if they want to do so.

Does this mean a bunch of doctors and pharmacists are going to the pokey when Aunt B OD's on oxy?

Good luck linking the dealer to the dope used to OD. Especially if the dead guy had a history of opiate abuse.

Last time I checked, criminals were criminals because they don't care about the law. So long as there is demand for intoxicants, there will be people ready, able, and available to sell them regardless what laws politicians put in place.

This strikes me more as a "see, we're doing something" about a real problem here in Florida by politicians already looking toward reelection.

Another knee jerk/feel good reaction by politicians.

What's next?
Sportbike dealers face manslaughter charges for crotchrocket motorcycle deaths.
Gun Dealers face manslaughter charges for suicides.
McDonalds faces manslaughter charges for people cardiac arrests.

Drug dealers can already be arrested. Why do more charges to throw at them matter? It is wrong to shift the blame for one persons stupid decisions to someone else.

Just what we need, another law.

quote:

Originally posted by domcintosh:
What's next?
Sportbike dealers face manslaughter charges for crotchrocket motorcycle deaths.
Gun Dealers face manslaughter charges for suicides.

If there were a huge spike in deaths related to those things, it would be a fair comparison to the opioid epidemic, and 'epidemic' is most assuredly the correct way to characterize what's going on right now in this country with narcotics.

Personally, I don't give a rat's ass if someone kills their self with drugs, accidentally or intentionally, but I am not a state legislator with constituents contacting me to do something about it, whether anything can be done or not.

If the threat of immediate death is no deterrence, another law wont be either.

Selling drugs is illegal, so lets make it more illegal! Doubleplus illegal!

Clearly this method isn't working, so perhaps we should try and come at the problem from another direction?

Again, you have people in a position to "do something" being urged to "do something" about the opioid epidemic.

Let's hear your alternate suggestions. If you had to "do something" about this, what would you do? Let's be realistic. What would you do? If your response is "nothing", don't bother. I'm wondering what better solutions members here think they may have.

Punishing the source is not that nutty of an idea, is it? If not this, what, then?

quote:

Doubleplus illegal

Indeed.

I'm not sure what's more sad, that such simpletons (the lawmakers) either don't get the absurdity and ineffectual nature of such measures or they just don't care.

All show, no go. Pure governance theatre.

Caught selling drugs? Execution. That would make a few people think.

How about a mandantory 15 yr no parole sentence for selling opiods.

It's logical enough, especially given all the fentanyl (sp?) being used to cut the heroin. If you add it to your dope, you're not just being busted for selling dope - you're also being busted for the separate act of adding something to your dope that makes your dope highly likely to kill immediately.

The fun part is that someone is going to have to prove that the dealer who gets busted actually added the stuff to the dope or knew that the stuff was added to the dope. I'm not a criminal lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but that's gotta be tough to do unless someone rolls over on a supplier who's big enough to be the one cutting the dope.

quote:

I don't think it's going to stop anyone from buying or selling this stuff if they want to do so.

I agree... AND prisons nationwide are full anyway. I doubt Florida is any different. More prison sentences just mean more prisoners released early because of overcrowding.

We need to do something but I don't think this is it.

Most likely its an addition to be able to charge those caught doing it with a more aggressive penalty that can't be done now.

FL has a shitton of illegal pill mills, much of the oxy problem in Appalachia and other impoverished areas is historically fed by south fl pill mills.

quote:

Originally posted by tanksoldier:
We need to do something but I don't think this is it.

What we need to do is let these fools keep killing themselves with this stuff, preferably before they breed.
That's my solution. Let society cleanse itself. But, again, I am not a state legislator. Can you imagine if some state official came out and said his solution to this epidemic is the one I just described? They'd be out of office within two days.

They call this a drug war. Treat it like one. Either Mexico stops it or we send our troops in and wipe out the cartels.