BY JO KWON BEVERLYWOOD
UPDATED 10:00 AM PT SEP. 06, 2023 PUBLISHED 7:07 PM PT SEP. 05, 2023
LOS ANGELES — Alexandra’s Law would have required judges to warn convicted drug dealers that fentanyl can kill. According to the proposed law, the judge would be required to tell drug dealers that if they continue to sell fentanyl and it causes death, they could face murder charges. However, the proposal has faced several hurdles and failed to pass in the state legislature. But the group behind Alexandra's Law, named after Temecula 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto, who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2019, has kicked off a new campaign to get it on the 2024 ballot in California. Julie Shamash’s son Tyler died from a fentanyl overdose nearly five years ago. Shamash discusses the proposed law and tells Spectrum News about her work with the family’s nonprofit, Drug Awareness Foundation. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and current president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, weighs in on what he feels is the best way to address the fentanyl crisis.
