By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — U.S. Rep. Jim Banks says fentanyl “has devastated thousands of Hoosier families.”

It’s why the GOP congressman, who represents Indiana’s third congressional district covering part of Kosciusko County, told InkFreeNews he filed H.R. 8839 on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Jim Banks

The Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act as noted in its text would create additional penalties for those who are “manufacturing, creating, distributing, dispensing, or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance listed in schedule I or II that is combined with a candy or beverage product, marketed or packaged to appear similar to a candy or beverage product, or modified by flavoring or coloring to appear similar to a candy or beverage product, and knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the controlled substance will be distributed, dispensed, or sold to a person under 18 years of age.”

Those additional criminal penalties would be “in the case of a first offense involving the same controlled substance and schedule, an additional term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years; and in the case of a second or subsequent offense involving the same controlled substance and schedule, an additional term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years.”

In a summary on the new bill, Banks referenced a recent statement from the Drug Enforcement Administration that “drug cartels are disguising fentanyl as candy ‘to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.’”

Banks elaborated more on his motivation behind the legislation in a statement to InkFreeNews on Thursday, Sept. 22.

“The fentanyl epidemic … is now the leading cause of death for middle-aged Americans and warrants immediate, serious and bipartisan legislation from Congress,” he said. “Unfortunately, Speaker (of the House Nancy) Pelosi and House Democrats have ignored this public health crisis.”

“My bill would increase the penalties for drug dealers who target children. I also support legislation to stop the flow of fentanyl at its source by securing our border and legislation to enact stiffer penalties on all criminals who sell this poison in the U.S.,” he added.

Banks organized a roundtable on fentanyl last week at which congressional leaders heard from speakers who’ve been personally impacted by the drug. That included Brandi Shepherd of Warsaw, who founded Walking in Awareness and Recovery locally after her brother passed away from accidentally taking fentanyl last year.