West Virginia Watch – Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Thursday signed into law a bill to drastically increase criminal penalties for dealing and transporting certain types of drugs in West Virginia.
Read the full article.
Senate Bill 196 — dubbed Lauren’s Law in honor of a Morgantown woman who died in 2020 after accidentally overdosing on drugs laced with fentanyl — passed the Legislature during the last days of the 2025 regular session.
The bill introduces mandatory minimum sentences into state code for transporting cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into West Virginia and removes alternative sentencing options — like probation or home confinement — for those who are jailed on those charges.
