An Act to Ensure Safer Communities by Increasing the Punishment for Crimes Involving Fentanyl
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0986
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: FARRIN, NEWMAN, HARRINGTON, ARDELL, WHITE
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1103, 17-A MRSA §1103-A

Legislative Document
No. 986
S.P. 405
In Senate, March 2, 2023
An Act to Ensure Safer Communities by Increasing the Punishment 
for Crimes Involving Fentanyl
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator FARRIN of Somerset.
Cosponsored by Representative NEWMAN of Belgrade and
Senator: HARRINGTON of York, Representatives: ARDELL of Monticello, WHITE of 
Waterville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §1103, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 383, §115 and 
affected by §156, is amended to read:
1-A.   Except as provided in subsection 1‑B, a person is guilty of unlawful trafficking 
in a scheduled drug if the person intentionally or knowingly trafficks in what the person 
knows or believes to be a scheduled drug, which is in fact a scheduled drug, and the drug 
is:
A.  A Except as provided in paragraph I, a schedule W drug.  Violation of this paragraph 
is a Class B crime;
B.  A schedule X drug.  Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;
C.  Marijuana in a quantity of 20 pounds or more.  Violation of this paragraph is a Class 
B crime;
D.  Marijuana and the person grows or cultivates 500 or more plants.  Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class B crime;
E.  Marijuana in a quantity of more than one pound.  Violation of this paragraph is a 
Class C crime;
F.  Marijuana and the person grows or cultivates 100 or more plants.  Violation of this 
paragraph is a Class C crime;
G.  A schedule Y drug.  Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; or
H.  A schedule Z drug.  Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime.;
I.  A schedule W drug and the scheduled drug is W-18; W-15; carfentanil; sufentanil; 
fentanyl powder; and any derivative of fentanyl powder by any substitution on or 
replacement of the phenethyl group, any substitution on the piperidine ring, any 
substitution on or replacement of the propanamide group, any substitution on the 
phenyl group or any combination thereof, including, but not limited to, despropionyl 
fentanyl, furanylfentanyl, fluorofentanyl, 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, acetylfentanyl 
and any methylfentanyl derivatives. Violation of this paragraph is a Class A crime; or
J.  A scheduled drug described in paragraphs B to H and the scheduled drug contains a 
detectable quantity of W-18; W-15; carfentanil; sufentanil; fentanyl powder; and any 
derivative of fentanyl powder by any substitution on or replacement of the phenethyl 
group, any substitution on the piperidine ring, any substitution on or replacement of 
the propanamide group, any substitution on the phenyl group or any combination 
thereof, including, but not limited to, despropionyl fentanyl, furanylfentanyl, 
fluorofentanyl, 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, acetylfentanyl and any methylfentanyl 
derivatives. Violation of this paragraph is a Class A crime.
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §1103-A is enacted to read:
§1103-A.  Unlawful use of electronic communication device in furtherance of fentanyl 
trafficking
1.  A person is guilty of unlawful use of an electronic communication device in 
furtherance of fentanyl trafficking if that person intentionally or knowingly uses an 
electronic communication device in the furtherance of trafficking in a scheduled drug under 
section 1103, subsection 1-A, paragraph I or J. Violation of this subsection is a Class B 
crime.
2.  As used in this section, "electronic communication device" means an electronic 
device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, personal digital 
assistant or a portable or mobile computer.  "Electronic communication device" includes 
landline telephones.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Maine Criminal Code as follows:
1.  It increases the penalty for trafficking fentanyl and other scheduled drugs containing 
a detectable amount of fentanyl from a Class B crime to a Class A crime; and 
2.  It establishes a new Class B crime of unlawful use of an electronic communication 
device in furtherance of fentanyl trafficking.  A person is guilty of the crime if the person 
uses an electronic communication device in the furtherance of trafficking in fentanyl or 
other scheduled drugs containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.