California lawmakers rejected a bill intended to crack down on fentanyl dealers.
Under the bipartisan bill, people convicted of selling fentanyl would get a warning if they deal again. And if it leads to someone's death, they could face homicide charges.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was there to support the bill.
βThe level of death and misery on San Francisco streets as a result of fentanyl is staggering and unacceptable. In the last three years, 75% of the 1,400 overdose deaths that occurred in San Francisco, involved fentanyl,β she said. βIn this January alone, we've had 78 overdose deaths. What is left out of the statistics, is that a majority of the people dying of overdose, are people of color, are black people. This is a problem of epidemic proportions.β
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Lawmakers did vote to reconsider the bill at a future date