Bill > S00972

This bill, known as "Laree's law", creates a new felony offense called "homicide by sale of an opiate controlled substance" in New York state law. The bill defines an "opiate controlled substance" as any substance listed in schedules I-V of the public health law that is classified as an opiate or opium derivative. Under this new law, a person can be charged with a class A-1 felony (the most serious felony classification in New York) if they unlawfully transport or sell an opiate controlled substance that subsequently causes another person's death. The bill includes a specific defense: if the defendant and the deceased jointly acquired and possessed the substance with the mutual intent to use it together, they cannot be charged under this new statute. The law will go into effect 90 days after it is signed, and appears to be designed to hold drug dealers more accountable when their drug sales result in fatal overdoses, particularly in the context of the ongoing opioid crisis.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S972