A significant step in the fight against opioid addiction was taken as the Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill that would classify overdoses from fentanyl as “poisonings.” Senate Bill 645, one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities, would allow prosecutors to charge drug manufacturers and dealers with murder. Additionally, the bill increases the penalty for making or delivering less than 1 gram of fentanyl, from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony. If a person dies from an overdose as a result of manufacturing or delivering the drug, that penalty is escalated to a second-degree felony.