Corbett Signs Rep. O'Neill's Drug Bill

Governor Tom Corbett signed into law House Bill 396, sponsored by Rep. Bernie O'Neill (Bucks), that O'Neill said “will give law enforcement a stronger tool to prosecute...” dealers.

The new law will hold those accountable if they continue to sell drugs to our children, O'Neill told WarminsterPatch.

Prior to O'Neill's legislation, drug delivery resulting in death was classified as third degree murder. O'Neill pointed out that the “glitch” with the statute was you had to know what someone was thinking at the time he or she sold the drug.

Now “district attorneys won't have to prove what someone was (is) thinking,” he said. What prosecutors will now have to prove is a defendant acted “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by selling...” the substance leading the victim to death.

O'Neill was inspired to research the issue on a deeper issue by the experience of Marti Hottenstein, whose son, Karl, was turned away for treatment for a substance abuse disorder and died after purchasing methadone on the street from a dealer.

Hottenstein, who started the How to Save a Life Foundation, has helped 400 people get treatment, Upper SouthamptonPatch late last month. He was unavailable for comment at this time.

The new law, set to take effect in 60 days, gives sentencing guidelines that provide judges with a wider berth than in the earlier construction of the statute. There is a mandatory minimum of five years and maximum of 40, which also includes fines in the thousands that can also be assessed.

If you have a loved one dealing with a substance abuse issue you can call the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc. at the numbers below for referral and treatment information. 

Administrative:
Ph: 215-773-9313 
Fax: 215-956-9939

Approval of Care:
Ph: 215-773-9643
Fax: 267-885-1336

8:30 am - 4:30 pm 
Monday - Friday

"No Person Seeking Recovery Need Ever Die As a Result of Addiction" 

-NA Basic text