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DeSantis cracks down on fentanyl drug traffickers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1359 into law today. It creates stiffer penalties for fentanyl drug traffickers.

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Jim and Keyla Morgan lost their daughter, Megan Whitaker, to fentanyl in March of 2020.

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“It’s been devastating for us,” Jim Morgan said.

“I thought for sure, this can’t be true,” Keyla added. “This can’t be real.”

Even after three years, they say the wound is still fresh.

“She smoked a joint to go to sleep and it was unknowingly laced with fentanyl,” Keyla said.

But they aren’t the only ones who suffered. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 71,000 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021, which is a nearly 22 percent increase from 2020.

“It’s getting worse and worse every day,” Jim said.

Read: Sheriff gives details on major fentanyl bust in Clay County

To curb the fentanyl crisis, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1359 to target the so-called ‘rainbow fentanyl’ by making penalties tougher when the drug is packaged to look like candy.

The Morgan’s say this bill is a step in the right direction.

Keyla said, “We have to stop the influx of fentanyl through the border to really protect…” And Jim finished for her by saying, “The rest of the United States.”

This bill would also make those guilty of trafficking serve a minimum 25-year sentence and a one-million-dollar penalty.

“And we’re treating the fentanyl dealers going after kids like the murders that they are,” Gov. DeSantis said.

The bill also ensures possession, sale, or manufacture of these substances would be a first-degree felony. And this is something Megan Whitaker’s parents are in favor of.

“I wish more states would do the same,” Jim said.

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HB 1359 will take effect in October.