MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Governor Patrick Morrisey made an official trip to Morgantown to sign Senate Bill 196, or Lauren’s Law, on Thursday at Hazel’s House of Hope. The law is named after Lauren Cole, a 26-year-old Morgantown native and WVU graduate, who died after ingesting drugs laced with fentanyl in July 2020.
The law changes the minimum and maximum prison sentences for offenses involving fentanyl. The sentences under the law are mandatory and cannot be suspended for any reason, deferred to home incarceration, or to be eligible for probation.
“Lauren’s Law, we think, can be instrumental in helping our state deal with the drug epidemic,” Gov. Morrisey said. “It’s part of the enforcement side of the equation, and it does take direct aim at the drug dealers, and boy do we have a message for those drug dealers today.”
Supporter of the bill through the process, Senator Brian Helton, R, Fayette, 9, told the crowd it’s time to send a strong message to the dealers and choke off the supply. This law is a clear message to those selling fentanyl that West Virginia will no longer put up with our citizens dying because of this poison.
“This law is going to be important,” Helton said. “It’s going to be a message to drug dealers and a nationwide alert that says when you come to West Virginia on drugs, we’re not only going to lock you up, but we’re going to lock you up and throw away the key.”
Lauren’s father, Michael, started the addiction triage center in his daughter’s name, Lauren’s Wish, after her death at Hazel’s House of Hope. He believes this law, along with education and treatment, will make these substances less prevalent for future generations.
“We’re going to make the penalties more severe so it’s not inviting to come,” Cole said. “You’re not going to sell today and be out on the street tomorrow, you’re not going to target our youth and take away a generation from us, you’re not going to do it here.”
Michael’s daughter Lauren was a WVU graduate seeking a master’s degree in social work at the time of her death. While pursuing her next degree, she worked with recovering addicts and those in foster care.
“This epidemic is not happening under bridges and in back alleys; it’s happening in our homes, our schools, and workplaces—it does not discriminate,” Cole said. “Individuals, and unfortunately our youth experiment, and you can’t do that today.”
Senator Mike Oliverio, R, Monongalia, 13, is a supporter of the bill and lifelong friends with the Cole family. He is glad to support the bill and wants to see more services and programs for those finding their ways out of addiction.
“But a real solution has to be holistic,” Oliverio said. “It has to involve the counseling, support, services, health care, job training, and all of the things to help people move away from drug addiction.”