WASHINGTON, DC – Overdose-related drug trafficking cases have increased sharply in recent years, with fentanyl and synthetic opioids driving the majority of fatal overdoses, according to a new report by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) published in March.
The report analyzed 1,340 individuals sentenced for federal drug trafficking offenses involving an overdose between FY2019 and FY2023, finding that cases of this nature increased by 44 percent during this period.
Overdose deaths have continued to rise nationwide, with over 780,000 Americans dying from drug overdoses in the past decade, the USSC stated, noting, “Fentanyl and its analogues were involved in nearly 80 percent (79.4 percent) of the overdose cases in this study.”
The average sentence for overdose-related trafficking cases was 149 months, nearly double the 76-month average for non-overdose cases, the USSC stated.
Additionally, one-third of overdose cases resulted in mandatory minimum sentences of 240 months of life imprisonment, while less than one percent of non-overdose cases involved similar sentencing requirements, the USSC reported.
“Mandatory minimum penalties of 240 months or life imprisonment applied in one-third of all Overdose Cases but in less than one percent of Non-Overdose Cases,” the USSC said.
The report also highlighted that 55.2 percent of those sentenced were street-level dealers, while 23.9 percent were wholesalers, the USSC stated. Courts also imposed harsher sentences when accused failed to provide aid or took actions that worsened overdose outcomes, the USSC reported.
“Individuals who failed to render aid to an overdose victim or furthered the harm done to an overdose victim received the longest sentences among all Overdose Cases,” the USSC noted.
A significant concern raised in the report is the lack of awareness among victims regarding the substances they consumed.
“Almost 80 percent of the victims who overdosed on fentanyl did not know they were taking that drug,” the USSC reported.
The Commission concluded that while overdose-related cases remain a small fraction of the federal caseload, they result in far more severe penalties, reflecting the devastating consequences of the opioid crisis, the USSC stated.
