Emotional Lawmaker Describes Fentanyl Crisis 

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Addiction Recovery Bulletin

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Jan. 2025 – “I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve had to listen to the screams on the other end of a phone when family members are notifying other family members about their sister, their uncle,” said Gwynn. “Those screams are repeated when they walk in the door.” A bill that would criminalize fentanyl trafficking unanimously passed out of a Utah House committee Wednesday after an emotional hearing.

HB87, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, would make it a first-degree felony for someone to produce, distribute, or traffic fentanyl in the state. The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

Gwynn, who works as the Roy police chief, was visibly affected as he described the problems caused by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid used to relieve pain.

“Over 600 times last year in the state of Utah, someone came home and found their son, daughter, or parent deceased from an opiate overdose,” Gwynn said, his voice breaking.

CONTINUE@KSLTV

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