PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to punish drug dealers for fatal overdoses, despite opposition from medical and recovery groups.
The Senate passed the attorney general’s bill, known as “Kristen’s Law,” on Tuesday. The House Judiciary Committee will consider it Wednesday.
The law’s named after Kristen Coutu, who died in 2014 of a fentanyl overdose. Coutu thought she was taking heroin.
The bill would levy up to a lifelong prison sentence on those convicted of providing drugs to people who overdose.
Medical and recovery professionals will hold a press conference to oppose the bill Monday. They say the measure would not deter drug use and would target low-level drug dealers and addicts, not predatory traffickers.
The House speaker sponsored the bill. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo says she hesitantly supports it.
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