By a unanimous vote, the state House today approved a bill sponsored by Rep. James Roebuck, D-Phila. It also would apply an additional two-year mandatory sentence if the trafficking occurred within 1,000 feet of a playground or a community recreation center. Currently, a mandatory two-year sentence is imposed on people convicted of involving minors in drug transactions within 1,000 feet of a school, college or university, or if it occurred on a school bus or within 500 feet of a school bus stop. These poisons have ravaged young people from several generations, leaving in their wake despair and wasted lives. This bill adds more clout, warning drug traffickers to stay away from where children gather, and, if they don't, the penalty will be harsh.
Illegal drugs have no mercy on children.
Those who inflict them on children deserve no mercy in return. Roebuck's bill, which passed 197-0, now advances to the Senate for consideration.