A new law criminalizing the trafficking of the deadly drug fentanyl will go into effect on Tuesday.
The new law will create the crime of trafficking fentanyl for amounts greater than 10 grams with punishment of up to 20 years in state prison.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and estimated to be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
According to the Attorney General’s office, predatory drug traffickers frequently mix fentanyl with heroin, often without the knowledge of the buyer. It can be deadly even in very low doses.
Massachusetts law enforcement have recently noticed a significant increase in overdoses and death from the use of fentanyl.
Until now, drug traffickers could only be charged with the lesser crimes of manufacturing, distributing or possessing fentanyl, regardless of the quantity of the drug they were caught with.
(Copyright (c) 2016 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)