‘Put Some Teeth Into The Law’: State Law Passes Making Mixing Fentanyl Into Drugs A Felony

The number of Oklahomans dying from fentanyl overdoses has been skyrocketing in recent years because fentanyl is being put into all kinds of drugs, from opioids to meth and cocaine.

Oklahoma just passed a new law that would make it a felony to mix fentanyl with other drugs.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is glad to see this law because they see international criminal organizations making these drugs and selling them on the streets of Oklahoma.

The parents of Gavin Long, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022, said in a 2023 interview with News On 6 that losing their child was devastating, and now they are doing all they can to help others.

"I want to save somebody so they don't have to go through the same thing that we've had to struggle with over this year,” said Delana Pritchard, Long’s mother. “Any life is worth saving."

The new law says any person convicted of mixing fentanyl with other drugs could face at least seven years in prison.

Plus, anyone caught with 10 grams or more of a mixture of drugs containing fentanyl, could serve at least 20 years in prison and be required to serve at least 85% of that sentence before being eligible for credits or parole.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says this is a great way to start cutting down on the number of people putting fentanyl in drugs being sold on the streets.

"It's a way for us to be able to put some teeth into the law to deal with these new trends that these criminal organizations are using this deadly fentanyl as a cheap alternative to maximize their profits while killing Oklahomans,” said Mark Woodward, the spokesman for OBN.

He says the law gives District Attorneys more opportunities to prosecute people putting lives in danger by mixing fentanyl into drugs.

"We continue to give our district attorneys' options when it comes to dealing with these people who are putting this out on the streets and killing Oklahomans at a record pace,” said Woodward.

He says tougher laws on fentanyl are needed because law enforcement worries about what’s going to happen with fentanyl in the future.

"Ultimately, people need to understand that if you sell just one pill or a quarter of a pill and it ends up taking a life of somebody, you absolutely could be looking at first degree murder charges,” said Woodward. “That's the message That's how serious we take what fentanyl is doing to our culture today."

His advice is for people to be careful when it comes to buying drugs off the street.

"You really have to expect fentanyl in everything now,” said Woodward. “Whether they're buying marijuana out on the street, an oxycodone tablet, or they're buying methamphetamine or cocaine, you better expect that it's going to contain fentanyl.”

The law will go into effect on November 1.