Democratic Virginia AG Nominee Jay Jones Releases Plan to Combat Fentanyl Issues

On Tuesday, Democratic Virginia Attorney General nominee Jay Jones released his plan to prevent fentanyl addiction, support addiction recovery and combat the long-simmering illicit market for the drug. Incumbent and Republican nominee Jason Miyares has also worked to address fentanyl’s impact in Virginia during his tenure.

Jay Jones, a former state delegate from Norfolk, announced his renewed bid for attorney general during a gathering at the Maggie L. Walker Memorial Plaza in Richmond Tuesday. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

If elected, Jones plans to create a Drug Trafficking Unit within the attorney general’s office to enhance information-sharing, coordination and investigative support for local law enforcement and commonwealth’s attorney’s offices.

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“We know that there are ways to use the justice system to hold people accountable, but we also know that we can’t lock ourselves up to get out of this problem,” Jones said. “So we are trying to add what’s currently missing, and that’s this trafficking unit.”

Jones also sees a route to prevention by partnering with the Virginia Department of Education and local school divisions for education initiatives on counterfeit pills and online sales.

His prior experience serving on Virginia’s Opioid Abatement Authority gave him more direct insight into how the funds distributed from settlements with pharmaceutical companies get to work, he said. As the state’s top lawyer, he would continue to support efforts for the Authority to support recovery programs.

To help reduce recidivism, as some people leaving and entering the criminal justice system  struggle with addiction, Jones suggested expanding specialty court programs so that offenders are more likely to be paired with treatment services.

Also on the criminal justice side of the issue, Jones would support laws that raise penalties for fentanyl-related money laundering and go after social media and payment platforms that facilitate illicit drug transactions. Jones would seek to strengthen partnerships with neighboring states to help continue cracking down on trafficking across state lines.

He said that North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s work in this space is an idea of what more states could be doing — such as the multi-state target of WeChat’s role in fentanyl money laundering.

A decades-long issue, Jones’ work fighting fentanyl, if elected, would build on some previous efforts by his opponent Miyares.

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The current attorney general has spearheaded a “One Pill Can Kill” advertisement campaign to alert people of the possibility that counterfeit pills may be deadly.

He also supported a bipartisan bill that passed this year to allow for a manslaughter charge for dealers if a person’s death can be traced back to their product.

Miayres’office has also been involved in a number of multi-state settlements with pharmaceutical companies for their role in the national opioid crisis. He or Jones could further help tackle additional settlements or cases in the future.

The fentanyl crisis can largely be traced to Appalachian areas of states, including Virginia, where Purdue Pharma marketed OxyContin in the 1990s. This led to widespread opioid addiction, which former Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy chronicled in a book that has since been adapted into the Hulu series “Dopesick.” Purdue reached a $6 billion dollar settlement with several states in early 2022 and other companies have continued to be litigated since.

Jones noted that solving the decades-spanning problem requires “an all hands on deck approach.”

by Charlotte Rene Woods, Virginia Mercury

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