Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.

Legislation that would enhance the criminal penalties for trafficking fentanyl cleared a state Senate committee Thursday.

People who manufacture, deliver, possess or sell traditional drugs, such as morphine, opium or heroin can be sentenced to between five and 25 years in prison depending upon the quantity.

Senate Bill 79 would lift the penalties for fentanyl to 10 to 35 years, with longer sentences for smaller quantities than with traditional drugs.

Fentanyl needs to be targeted due to its enhanced potency and resulting lethality, said Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell, the chief sponsor of SB 79.

The sentence for four grams of a traditional drug is a minimum of five years in prison, but SB 79 seeks to double that for fentanyl.

Goodman said at a hearing on his bill that just 250 milligrams can kill 120 people.

Maj. Walter Jones, in charge of drug enforcement for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, expanded on that, saying 1.3 pounds would kill everyone in his county, and 48 pounds would kill everyone in Georgia.

“I don’t call them drug dealers,” Jones said. “I call them death dealers.”

A woman testified about how her brother died after taking what he thought was Xanex, an anti-depressant. It was fentanyl.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send  the measure to the Senate Rules Committee, which could then put it before the full Senate for a vote.