What's happening
This bill increases penalties and adds new offenses for criminal possession, sale, and injection of heroin, fentanyl, and certain controlled substance mixtures.
Why it matters
Expands the range of drug-related activities that can result in felony charges, especially for heroin and fentanyl, including lower weight thresholds for possession and sale. This means more people could face severe criminal penalties for smaller amounts of these substances, potentially increasing incarceration rates.
Targets mixtures containing multiple controlled substances with new criminal categories and thresholds. This addresses the growing issue of drugs being mixed (e.g., heroin laced with fentanyl), reflecting an attempt to keep up with trends in illicit drug manufacturing and distribution.
Creates a new, higher-level felony for injecting heroin or fentanyl into another person, even with consent. This provision is a reaction to the high risks of overdose and death associated with these specific drugs, aiming to deter their use in particularly dangerous forms.
Adds new chemicals and corrects errors in the list of precursor substances for controlled substance manufacturing. By updating and expanding the list, law enforcement could more easily prosecute cases involving the production of synthetic opioids and other narcotics, possibly disrupting illicit drug labs.
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Headline styles
Toughen Heroin Sale Penalties
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 47–15
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.81
- Referred to codes
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–2
Show 4 earlier actions
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.917
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Toughen Heroin Sale Penalties
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Michael DenDekker
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2744
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2017
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to certain controlled substance offenses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 220.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 664 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
7. "Narcotic drug" means any controlled substance listed in schedule I(b), I(c), II(b) or II(c) other than methadone or heroin.
§ 2. The opening paragraph and subdivision 8 of section 220.06 of the penal law, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, subdivision 8 as added by chapter 264 of the laws of 2003, are amended and a new subdivision 9 is added to read as follows:
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses:
8. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing gamma hydroxybutyric acid, as defined in paragraph four of subdivision (e) of schedule I of section thirty-three hundred six of the public health law, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of twenty-eight grams or more[.]; or
9. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of five hundred milligrams or more.
§ 3. The opening paragraph and subdivision 15 of section 220.09 of the penal law, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995 and subdivision 15 as added by chapter 264 of the laws of 2003, are amended and two new subdivisions 16 and 17 are added to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06020-01-7
S. 2744 2
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses:
15. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing gamma hydroxybutyric acid, as defined in paragraph four of subdivision (e) of schedule I of section thirty-three hundred six of the public health law, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of two hundred grams or more[.]; or
16. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of one gram or more; or
17. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of three grams or more.
§ 4. The opening paragraph and subdivision 13 of section 220.16 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, are amended and two new subdivisions 14 and 15 are added to read as follows:
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses:
13. phencyclidine and said phencyclidine weighs one thousand two hundred fifty milligrams or more[.]; or
14. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of two grams or more; or
15. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of six grams or more.
§ 5. Subdivision 7 of section 220.18 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, is amended and two new subdivisions 8 and 9 are added to read as follows:
7. methadone and said methadone weighs two thousand eight hundred eighty milligrams or more[.]; or
8. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of five grams or more; or
9. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of thirty-six grams or more.
§ 6. Subdivision 2 of section 220.21 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, is amended and two new subdivisions 3 and 4 are added to read as follows:
2. methadone and said methadone weighs five thousand seven hundred sixty milligrams or more[.]; or
3. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of twenty-five grams or more; or
4. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or
S. 2744 3
substances are of an aggregate weight of one hundred eighty grams or more.
§ 7. The opening paragraph and subdivision 9 of section 220.39 of the penal law, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 1051 of the laws of 1973 and subdivision 9 as added by chapter 410 of the laws of 1979, are amended and two new subdivisions 10 and 11 are added to read as follows:
A person is guilty of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells:
9. a narcotic preparation to a person less than twenty-one years old[.]; or
10. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of eight grams or more; or
11. heroin.
§ 8. The opening paragraph and subdivision 7 of section 220.41 of the penal law, the opening paragraph as added by chapter 276 of the laws of 1973 and subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, are amended and two new subdivisions 8 and 9 are added to read as follows:
A person is guilty of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells:
7. methadone and the methadone weighs three hundred sixty milligrams or more[.]; or
8. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of five grams or more; or
9. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of sixteen grams or more.
§ 9. Section 220.43 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 785 of the laws of 1975, subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: § 220.43 Criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree.
A person is guilty of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells:
1. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing a narcotic drug and the preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of two ounces or more; or
2. methadone and the methadone weighs two thousand eight hundred eighty milligrams or more; or
3. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing heroin, its salts, isomers or salts of isomers and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of twenty-five grams or more; or
4. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing two or more controlled substances, their salts, isomers or salts of isomers, and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of forty grams or more.
Criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree is a class A-I felony.
§ 10. Section 220.46 of the penal law, as added by chapter 896 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: § 220.46 Criminal injection of a narcotic drug.
S. 2744 4
A person is guilty of criminal injection of a narcotic drug when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses a narcotic drug other than fentanyl and he or she intentionally injects by means of a hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needle all or any portion of that drug into the body of another person with the latter's consent.
Criminal injection of a narcotic drug is a class E felony.
§ 11. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 220.47 to read as follows: § 220.47 Criminal injection of heroin or fentanyl.
A person is guilty of criminal injection of heroin or fentanyl when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses heroin or fentanyl and he or she intentionally injects by means of a hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needle all or any portion of that drug into the body of another person with the latter's consent.
Criminal injection of heroin or fentanyl is a class C felony.
§ 12. Section 220.60 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 276 of the laws of 1973 and subdivisions (e) and (f) as amended and subdivisions (g) and (h) as added by chapter 394 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows: § 220.60 Criminal possession of precursors of controlled substances.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of precursors of controlled substances when, with intent to manufacture a controlled substance unlawfully, he or she possesses at the same time:
(a) carbamide (urea) and propanedioc and malonic acid or its derivatives; or
(b) ergot or an ergot derivative and diethylamine or dimethylformamide or diethylamide; or
(c) phenylacetone (1-phenyl-2 propanone) and hydroxylamine or ammonia or formamide or benzaldehyde or nitroethane or methylamine.
(d) pentazocine and methyliodide; or
(e) phenylacetonitrile and dichlorodiethyl methylamine or dichlorodiethyl benzylamine; or
(f) [diephenylacetonitrile] diphenylacetonitrile and dimethylaminoisopropyl chloride; or
(g) piperidine and cyclohexanone and bromobenzene and lithium or magnesium; or
(h) 2, 5-dimethoxy benzaldehyde and nitroethane and a reducing agent; or
(i) acetic anhydride and sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride.
Criminal [prossession] possession of precursors of controlled substances is a class E felony.
§ 13. Subdivision 1 of section 230.34 of the penal law as added by chapter 74 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
1. unlawfully providing to a person who is patronized, with intent to impair said person's judgment: (a) a narcotic drug or a narcotic preparation; (b) concentrated cannabis as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision four of section thirty-three hundred two of the public health law; (c) methadone; [or] (d) gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) or flunitrazepan, also known as Rohypnol; or (e) heroin;
§ 14. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to certain controlled substance offenses
Purpose
To help combat the heroin overdoses in this State by increasing the penalties for selling heroin, compounds that include heroin, and compounds that include heroin and another narcotic.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.00(7) to remove heroin from the definition of the tern "narcotic drug."
Read the full memo (1,522 words)
Section 2 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.06 by adding a new subdivision 9 and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 9 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 4th degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 500 milligrams or more.
Section 3 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.09 by adding two new subdivisions and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 16 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 1 gram or more. New subdivision 17 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 3 grams or more.
Section 4 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.16 by adding two new subdivisions and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 14 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 2nd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 2 grams or more. New subdivision 15 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 2nd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 6 grams or more.
Section 5 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.18 by adding two new subdivisions. New subdivision 8 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 2nd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 9 grams or more. New subdivision 8 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 36 grams or more.
Section 6 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.21 by adding two new subdivisions. New subdivision 3 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 1st degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 45 grams or more. New subdivision 4 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she possesses one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 180 grams or more.
Section 7 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.39 by adding two new subdivisions and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 10 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 8 grams or more. New subdivision 11 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells heroin.
Section 8 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.41 by adding two new subdivisions and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 8 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 2nd degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 5 grams or more. New subdivision 9 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 2nd degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 16 grams or more.
Section 9 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.43 by adding two new subdivisions and making the section gender neutral. New subdivision 3 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 1st degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells one or more compounds or mixtures containing heroin and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 25 grams or more. New subdivision 4 provides that a person will be guilty of the offense of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 1st degree if he or she knowingly and unlawfully sells one or more compounds or mixtures containing two or more controlled substances and the aggregate weight of the compounds or mixtures is 40 grams or more.
Section 10 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.46 to make the section gender neutral and to remove fentanyl from the offense.
Section 11 of this bill amends the Penal Law by adding a new section 220.47 to establish the offense of criminal injection of heroin or fentanyl. A person is guilty of this offense if he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses heroin or fentanyl and he or she intentionally injects by means of a hypodermic syringe all or any portion of that drug into another person's body without his or her consent. This new offense is a class C felony.
Section 12 of this bill amends Penal Law section 220.60 to add a new subdivision and to make the section gender neutral. New subdivision (i) adds simultaneous possession of acetic anhydride and sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride to the offense of criminal possession of precursors of controlled substances.
Section 13 amends Penal Law section 230.34(1) to add heroin to the list of drugs that, if unlawfully provided to a person being patronized with the intent to impair such person's judgment would constitute the offense of sex trafficking.
Section 14 of this bill provides that this act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Existing law
Currently, heroin is included in the Penal Law's definition of the term "narcotic drug." The Penal Law does not specifically address Polydrugs that include heroin.
Justification
In the past few years, we have seen the number of deaths due to heroin overdoses skyrocket. On December 28, 2016, the New York Times reported that fentanyl had surpassed heroin for drug overdoses on Long Island and that many drug suppliers are mixing heroin with fentanyl for distribution on the streets. In September 2016 within a ten-day period, 9 people died on Staten Island from heroin overdoses.
In January 2016, the New York Times reported that in 2014, 47,055 people in this Country died from a heroin overdose, which is the equivalent of 125 Americans dying from an overdose every day.
Polydrugs, which are usually a mixture of two or more controlled substances, are gaining popularity. In a span of 12 days beginning in late March of this year, 10 people died in Sacramento, California from overdoses of narcotic drugs laced with fentanyl. In late January and early February of 2016, 23 people died in Buffalo from overdoses of polydrugs that contained heroin and fentanyl. To stop these needless deaths, we need to stop the supply. Increasing the penalties for heroin and polydrug offenses will provide a disincentive to drug dealers. The more drug dealers that we can get off the streets, the more lives we will save.
Legislative history
2016: S.7169 - Referred to Codes
Fiscal implications
None to the State
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.