Heroin Addiction: Law Enforcement

In Brief:

• Penalties for heroin-related offenses are linked to the quantity of the drug involved in the crime, with higher sanctions for offenses near schools and heroin-related deaths.
• New Hampshire allows at-risk individuals and those close to them to administer the overdose-reversing drug Narcan. Overdose victims or those attending to them may also request emergency services without being liable to arrest or prosecution. 
• Pro: Tougher penalties deter abuse and get addicts off the streets, reducing crime. 
• Con: The resources devoted to law enforcement would be better used for treatment, a more cost-effective response to addiction that reduces the likelihood of reoffending. 

Issue Facts: 

Heroin is considered a Schedule I controlled substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. 

The full text of laws relating to heroin and other drug crimes in New Hampshire can be found here. 

Maximum allowable penalties are determined based on the quantity of heroin involved in the crime, with amounts in excess of 5 grams incurring the toughest sentences. Penalties are doubled if the offense is committed within 1,000 feet of a school. 

Penalty for Heroin-Related Deaths  
NH law includes a provision that holds a person who manufactures, sells, or dispenses heroin liable for any death that results from use of that drug. Offenders can potentially be sentenced to life imprisonment. 

Mandatory Minimum Sentences in NH
New Hampshire has only one mandatory minimum sentence related to heroin, which specifies that a person convicted as “a drug enterprise leader” must receive a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, with a maximum of life imprisonment. Drug enterprise leaders are defined as those who conspire with more than one person to manufacture, sell, or otherwise dispense a Schedule I or II controlled substance. 

Overdose Drugs
It is legal in New Hampshire for health care professionals to prescribe the drug Narcan or its equivalent, which helps reverse the effects of a heroin overdose, to at-risk people or their family members, friends, or other individuals potentially in a position to assist them in case of an overdose. Those individuals are permitted to store and dispense the drug to someone suffering from an overdose. 

Immunity
New Hampshire law also protects individuals who call emergency services for assistance for drug overdose victims. Both witnesses of a drug overdose and those who are themselves overdosing may request medical assistance without being subject to arrest or prosecution.  

Drug and Mental Health Courts

Drug and mental health courts are specialized judicial programs designed to handle cases involving drug and alcohol dependency or mental illness. Drug courts tend to focus on treatment and rehabilitation through close monitoring and graduated sanctions and incentives, rather than conventional prison sentences. They are seen as an alternative to the traditional justice system, though opinions vary on whether they effectively address underlying substance abuse problems or are too lenient on offenders. Legislation creating a statewide drug court system was passed in June 2016. 

Policy Recommendations

Additional law enforcement initiatives considered or implemented in other states as a means of combating heroin abuse include: 

• Instituting higher penalties or mandatory minimum sentences for high-volume traffickers
• Reducing penalties for possession of smaller quantities of heroin, replacing prison sentences with mandatory treatment
• Creating drug-free zones with higher potential penalties in the vicinity of drug treatment centers or methadone clinics. 
• More strictly defining the quantities of heroin that constitute “intent to sell” by someone who possesses them.

Related issues

Heroin Addiction: Treatment Funding
Prescription Drug Abuse