‘We’re not getting drugs off the streets’

PUBLISHED: February 20, 2019 at 12:14 am | UPDATED: February 20, 2019 at 4:47 am

We need very harsh sentences for fentanyl and carfentanil dealers to show we mean business.

It will protect lives, like the baby exposed to fentanyl in Lawrence. We need all the tools we can to keep the bad guys in jail.

But we’re not solving the problem. We’re not getting drugs off the streets and helping keep people alive.

Criminal justice reforms do not help enough with combating fentanyl. We should have mandatory minimum sentences of 3-1/2 years for dealing in fentanyl.

Not having that says we’re not serious about getting this deadly drug off our streets.

We also need law enforcement to work with ICE. The latest figures show overdose deaths may be down in the state, but almost 2,000 people lost their lives to drugs last year.

Our children need to be protected. Drug dealers should not be walking out of court with a slap on the wrist. They should be doing hard time.

We should back up our law enforcement officers who work hard to get criminals and drugs off the street. Moreover, it is time to end the drug problems in Lawrence.

State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell (R-Taunton) represents the Third Bristol District.