PHOENIX - A proposal in the Arizona House to impose mandatory five-year minimum sentences on people who sell any amount of the opioids fentanyl or heroin appears to be in major trouble.
The bill by GOP Rep. Steve Pierce of Prescott drew criticism because it could send low-level offenders selling a small amount to support their own habits to prison for lengthy terms.
But it brought out emotional testimony from family members of young people who died of overdoses. The editors of The Daily Courier newspaper in Prescott said they are pushing the bill because of rising death toll.
