Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Ohio attorney general nominees are backing alternate proposals regarding the state’s heroin epidemic.
Democratic nominee David Pepper on Wednesday urged passage of a bill that would send more drug dealers to prison.
The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Nick Barborak of Lisbon, would remove a requirement that judges must sentence non-violent, first-time offenders to probation instead of prison time.
Pepper and Barborak said that under sentencing guidelines, dealers can sell 5 grams of heroin worth nearly $1,000 but face no prison time.
Pepper said their bill “will put sentencing decisions where they belong — in the hands of local judges and prosecutors who know the situation on the ground and are accountable to their communities.”
Ohio’s prison population remains high despite the 2011 law to reduce the number of people in prison. Heroin use has surged, and overdose deaths have risen sharply.
The Central Ohio Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police urges passage of the bill, which has bipartisan support.
Pepper criticizes Attorney General Mike DeWine, the Republican nominee, for reacting slowly to the heroin epidemic. DeWine said the problem is unprecedented and that his office has begun stricter law enforcement and more treatment plans.