NJ Assembly approves bill targeting heroin dealers

Heroin addiction and abuse is a full-blown epidemic in the Garden State according to a state legislator who sponsored a bill that would provide stricter penalties for heroin related crimes and specifically target heroin dealers.

On Thursday, the full General Assembly approved Assemblywoman Marlene Caride's (D-Ridgefield) legislation (A- 783/2831).

The bill increases penalties for certain heroin crimes by reducing the threshold amounts for first, second and third degree offenses involving manufacturing, distributing, dispensing and selling the drug.

"I am not going out of my way to convict, condemn your user. Your user has a problem. He needs or she needs help," Caride said. "The purpose and intent of this bill is to go after your drug dealers that are facilitating for the users."

Under the measure, the first degree crime threshold would decrease from five ounces to two ounces. A first degree conviction is punishable by 10-15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000 or both. The second degree threshold would be one-half ounce or more but less than two ounces, punishable by five to 10 years of imprisonment. Any amount less than one-half ounce would be a third degree crime punishable by three to five years in jail.

Caride said she has a message she delivers to anyone who tells her that heroin is a problem confined only to New Jersey's urban areas.

"Please get your heads out of the sand. We're not ostriches anymore. This is not a city problem. This is happening in all of our suburbs," the assemblywoman said.

Opponents of the bill argued that those struggling with heroin addiction should be in a treatment facility and not thrown behind bars. Others complained that the state doesn't have the money to house and feed the additional prisoners the bill would produce, should it become law. Caride countered that something has to be done to stem the tide of heroin abuse in New Jersey, which she predicted would only get worse because the drug is so inexpensive and accessible.

"Heroin is so easy to get and it's so cheap that more and more kids are turning on to heroin," Caride said. "The heroin bags, you can get them on the street for $3 to $4, even $5 and that's probably one of the more expensive ones."

Deputy Republican Leader Nancy Munoz (R-Summit) co-sponsors the bill.

"This is a frightening epidemic that crosses racial, geographic and socioeconomic lines,"  Muñoz said in a press release. "Current law allows individuals arrested for heroin offenses to avoid the most serious drug charges. That, along with convenience and low cost, is feeding this crisis. We need to update our statutes to reflect reality. It's time to make the punishment fit the crime."

An identical bill has been introduced in the State Senate. It would have to be approved by committee and the full Upper House before it could go to Gov. Chris Christie's desk for his consideration.