Dupage Policy Journal

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-IL) said she is co-sponsoring a bill that aims to address the fentanyl crisis. 

In a Facebook post Sept. 23, Mazzochi shared a WCIA article, announcing the introduction of the bill to curb fentanyl overdose-related deaths. 

“Fentanyl and its analogs are 50 times more powerful than heroin, and a mere 2-milligram amount can be lethal," Mazzochi wrote in her Facebook post. "Traffickers are mixing or packaging fentanyl to look like candy, gummies, or different prescription medications to skirt the law and target innocent users. Read my legislation to delineate this truth and give prosecutors stronger tools they need to combat a leading source of drug deaths in our county and state.”

HB 58080, introduced by Mazzochi and some of her House Republican colleagues, aims to address the fentanyl crisis in Illinois, according to the General Assembly website. The bill would amend the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to increase the penalties associated with manufacturing, possessing, and intending to distribute fentanyl; add the new offense of "fentanyl trafficking" into the criminal code and establish sentencing minimums.

This comes as 137 people died from overdoses in DuPage County in 2021, representing a 5% increase from 2020, according to the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD).  In 2021, people participating in the DuPage Narcan Program were able to reverse more than 200 opioid overdoses. 

In 2020, 2,944 Illinoisans died from opioid overdoses—a 33% increase from 2019, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Of all the drug overdose deaths in 2020, 83% involved synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths increased by 2,736% from 2013 to 2020. Opioids killed more than twice as many Illinoisans as car crashes in 2020.

DCHD announced a new vending machine supplied with Narcan nasal spray at the Linda A. Kurzawa Community Center on North County Farm Road in Wheaton in August 2021 in an effort to help reduce the number of overdose deaths.  

Depending on a person's body size and drug tolerance, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).