Despite repeated calls to eliminate mandatory minimums and address the need to adjust overly-harsh and retributive punishments related to drug offenses, HB 469 adds new mandatory sentences related to possession and trafficking of fentanyl related drugs. The legislation also increases the weight threshold that triggers a mandatory minimum sentence for offenses related to heroin possession and trafficking. What these changes will do is ensure that one of the many flawed tactics of the War on Drugs remains on the books, keeping the power of sentencing in the hands of prosecutors instead of restoring discretion to judges, as it should be.