A new law criminalizing the trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl goes into effect in Massachusetts Tuesday.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid estimated to be 30-50 times more potent than heroin. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey authored the legislation making trafficking in fentanyl a crime after police last year discovered it was increasingly common for drug dealers to mix fentanyl with heroin often with deadly results for unsuspecting users.
" Like so many users out there they think they are using heroin, but are getting something more potent, more lethal," said Healey
The new law authorizes a prison sentence of up to 20 years for people convicted of fentanyl trafficking.
