Virginia Proposals Would Classify Fentanyl as Weapon of Mass Destruction

Mock sizing of a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is shown in this illustration on April 1, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A set of companion bills introduced in Virginia by Republican state Del. Scott Wyatt and state Sen. Bryce Reeves would amend the state’s terrorism statute to include fentanyl as a “weapon” by definition, and the distribution of the deadly drug would be classified as a felony.

“I am carrying this bill that classifies Fentanyl (and its derivatives) as a weapon of terrorism because our youth dying on the streets is NOT ACCEPTABLE,” Reeves wrote in a Jan. 16 Twitter post. The proposals are HB1682 and SB1188, respectively.

Categorizing fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction would allow various departments to better coordinate and create new rules, regulations, and directives related to fentanyl.

A Worsening Problem

Fatal fentanyl overdoses in Virginia jumped to 2,039 in 2021 from 50 people in 2012, according to the Virginia Department of Health (pdf).

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said he supports the state’s effort to fight fentanyl overdoses and joined a bipartisan group of state attorneys general who sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that he classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.

“Fentanyl is taking the lives of too many Virginians every day, but there is a risk for even greater calamity,” Miyares said in a recent statement. “It would be foolish to wait for a tragic mass casualty event to strike when we have an opportunity to cohesively utilize government resources and intelligence to take proactive steps to preserve and protect American lives.”

Glenn Youngkin is sworn in as the 74th governor of Virginia on the steps of the State Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 15, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid normally used to treat patients with severe chronic pain, often following surgery. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance that is similar to morphine while about 100 times more potent.

Many blame the Biden administration’s open border policies for contributing to the excessive influx of Chinese-produced fentanyl coming via Mexico across the U.S. southern border.

Out of the estimated 107,622 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2021, more than 70,000 were caused by fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An additional fentanyl-related bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Ryan McDougle, SB881, would require that anyone who sells fentanyl that can be traced to an overdose death be charged with felony homicide, making the distributor responsible for that death.

McDougle’s bill has been endorsed by Miyares.

“The illicit fentanyl crisis in the United States is accelerating, but so is the movement to have illicit fentanyl rightly declared a Weapon of Mass Destruction,” stated Families Against Fentanyl founder James Rauh, who lost his adult son to accidental fentanyl poisoning.

Virginia Family Lost Son to Fentanyl

Tom and Delaine Mazich of Virginia lost their son, Greyson, to fentanyl poisoning in September 2020.

Greyson, then a senior in college, was fighting pneumonia alone in his dorm and took a pill to help him sleep, but never woke up. The toxicology report indicated fentanyl poisoning. The Mazichs began an organization called HOPE (Have conversations, Observe their children, Prosecute dealers, and End the stigma around opioid abuse) to help spread awareness of how fentanyl kills unsuspecting victims.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin praised the Mazichs during his January State of the Commonwealth address in Richmond.

“I pray no one in this room ever feels the pain and grief that I’ve seen the family endure, but too many experience the same pain every day,” Youngkin said. “Tom and Delaine represent so many parents who have suffered that powerful grief.”

The Virginia Senate meets in Richmond, Va., in a file image. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Youngkin cited the statewide prevention efforts by Virginia’s Opioid Abatement Authority, along with full funding for Narcan supplies and training across Virginia, and he vowed to sign a bill that would make it a felony to manufacture, distribute, and sell fentanyl.

“Two years ago, this body passed a bill to make the sale, manufacture, and distribution of drugs killing our children, our friends, and our neighbors a felony homicide,” said Youngkin, referring to HB 2528 in 2019.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam vetoed that bill.

“Send me that bill again, and I promise you—I will sign it,” Youngkin said.

McDougle’s bill advanced out of the state Senate Judiciary Committee in an 8–7 vote on Jan. 16. The bill must be approved by the Senate and the House of Delegates before being sent to the governor’s desk.