Senator Regola Wants Stiffer Penalties For Drug Dealers

Increased prison time, fines based on amount of controlled substance

Recognizing the toll that illegal drugs are taking on communities, Senator Bob Regola is preparing to introduce legislation to impose stiff mandatory minimum prison sentences for those caught selling or manufacturing controlled substances.

“My legislation targets the traffickers and manufacturers who are at the root of the drug problems in our neighborhoods,” Senator Regola said. “This bill considers the amount of illegal drugs that are involved and would correspondingly impose an appropriate penalty. This measure would cut down on trafficking by taking dealers off the streets and putting them away for a long time.”

The mandatory minimum sentencing legislation has the strong support of state Attorney General Tom Corbett.

"We need to ensure that the dealers who funnel drugs into our communities are held accountable with sentences that are commensurate with the volume of drugs being sold,” said Attorney General Corbett. “This legislation focuses on the high-level dealers who peddle large quantities of meth, heroine, and cocaine. The sentences that will be imposed under this legislation will diminish the gap between the state and federal sentences so that we can effectively prosecute these cases on a state level."

Under Senator Regola’s legislation, incidents involving 2 to 9 grams of cocaine would be punished by a minimum of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine. The prison terms increase corresponding with an increase in the amount of the controlled substance and whether the defendant has been convicted of another drug-trafficking offense. Incidents involving 500 grams or more of cocaine would carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Mandatory minimum penalties for methamphetamine incidents would begin at three years in prison and a $15,000 fine for 5 to 9 grams and go up to 10 years in prison and a $60,000 fine for 500 grams or more.

Incidents involving 1 to 4 grams of heroin would carry a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine and go up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for 100 grams or more.

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Contact:  Tom Hower  (717) 507-8049