Bartolotta bill would give new tool to punish drug dealers
In an effort to address the growing crisis of heroin and opioid addiction in Pennsylvania, Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, introduced legislation Wednesday that would give prosecutors a new tool to punish drug dealers who are responsible for overdoses.
Bartolotta’s bill would strengthen penalties for the delivery or distribution of an illicit drug that results in serious bodily injury to the user, such as a permanent disfigurement or the loss or impairment of a body part or organ.
Because Pennsylvania lacks a statute pertaining to serious bodily injury resulting from an overdose, district attorneys often refer these cases to federal prosecutors who can seek convictions for serious bodily injury under federal law. Unfortunately, this places an undue strain on the U.S. attorney’s office and takes away the ability of local prosecutors to pursue convictions in their home jurisdictions.
Bartolotta said the legislation was developed based on input gathered from a panel of local district attorneys who testified during a public hearing hosted by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania in Beaver County earlier this year.