Have you heard the name Alexandra Capelouto? If you haven’t, you’re about to.
Alexandra was a young woman from Riverside County who died after ingesting what she thought was Percocet, but was in fact fentanyl, a tragic decision that killed her and has, unfortunately, been replicated thousands of times over in every community across California.
The reality of our fentanyl crisis is that the vast majority of those who die today believed they were getting something else (Percocet, Adderall, Xanax, Heroin) and didn’t know they were taking fentanyl or drugs laced with fentanyl. Among teenagers, overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl tripled in the past two years, with the majority of surviving friends and family asserting their loved one absolutely did not have an addiction to this particular substance. While any purchase of drugs from the street or black market inherently carries a risk, what we are seeing today is the unprecedented poisoning of young Americans.
Alexandra’s death – like those of all the others – gutted her family. It also galvanized her father to both educate the public and demand better of our public safety institutions. Matt Capelouto has been the driving force behind the creation of Alexandra’s Law, a proposal to replicate California’s DUI warning by issuing a legal admonishment to drug offenders.
Simply put, under Alexandra’s Law, a person being charged with the crime of selling or transporting fentanyl would receive a warning that they are engaged in a deadly activity with a substance that has proven its ability to kill. That warning also informs them that if they should do so again, and someone should die of fentanyl poisoning as a result, they may be prosecuted for homicide.
Alexandra’s Law provides drug dealers with the truth in black and white. It forces them to acknowledge their actions and gives them a moment of perspective.It provides a clear opportunity for defense attorneys, judges, and prosecutors alike to encourage drug dealers to try a different avenue: “Future consequences could include murder. Are you prepared for that when you thought you were selling cocaine or Adderall? Let us help you make some different choices.”
California’s DUI Admonishment works. After implementation, cases of repeat DUI offenses dropped. We also have a robust and proactive court and social system that, when committed to, has shown great success in redirecting drug offenders to housing, treatment, job training, and education. Alexandra’s Law grafts these pieces together in a prevention measure that has every real possibility of keeping drug sellers out of jail and saving thousands of lives.
As a state senator, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m biased about public policy. I prefer the crafting, public debate, and stakeholder negotiation that goes into creating, amending, or even eliminating laws in California. Alexandra’s Law was one of those efforts – one that I and others have repeatedly authored in Sacramento, but which has been stopped in its efforts despite co-authorship of a majority of the State Senate.
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Our state’s unique initiative process exists for a number of reasons – one of which is to allow the residents of California to supersede or circumvent logjams like the one preventing Alexandra’s Law from taking effect.
Prop 36 provides Californians with an opportunity to cast OUR vote for Alexandra’s Law. It allows every parent the ability to support a program that could protect their family. It allows every person with an addict in their life the ability to take a step to ensure their safety. It allows those who ventured onto the wrong path, the ability to course correct by choosing another. It also keeps my promise to the parents whose children have been killed by fentanyl poisoning.
When you fill out your ballot this fall, I hope you’ll join me in casting an “aye” vote on Prop 36. Let’s end the twin crises of retail theft and fentanyl. Let’s remember Alexandra and those who have passed in recent years with action.
Tom Umberg serves in the California state Senate, representing the 34th District.