Bill > S839

This bill, by adding a new section to Chapter 94C of the General Laws, proposes to significantly increase penalties for individuals who knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, dispense, or possess with intent to do so a controlled substance classified as Class X under section thirty-one, which in this context refers to heroin. For a first offense, the punishment would be imprisonment in state prison for at least 100 years, or up to 100 years in jail or house of correction, along with a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Crucially, for individuals convicted of a second or subsequent offense, the mandatory minimum sentence escalates dramatically to 200 years in state prison, with a potential maximum of 300 years, and a substantial fine ranging from $1 million to $25 million, reflecting a legislative intent to impose severe consequences for repeat offenders in the heroin trade.