She says she has worked “extensively” to stop fentanyl deaths. Nevada's own numbers tell a different story.
In an interview with Univision, Cannizzaro, the Democrat nominee for Attorney General, said she has worked “extensively” on Nevada's fentanyl crisis.
Fentanyl overdose deaths among Hispanic Nevadans jumped by roughly 120 percent between 2019 and 2020, according to a CDC report on Nevada data. If “extensively” means making the problem worse, then sure, she has been busy.
The 2019 Bill That Opened the Door
Here is what actually happened. In 2019, during her first year as Senate Majority Leader and the first session of a full Democrat trifecta in Carson City, Cannizzaro helped move a sweeping criminal justice bill through her chamber.
That bill raised the threshold for low-level fentanyl trafficking charges all the way up to 100 grams.
Before that change, the line was 4 grams.
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can kill a person. A hundred grams is enough poison to end thousands of lives. Raising the bar that high made it much harder to charge dealers moving serious amounts of the drug.
Lombardo Steps In
Governor Lombardo took office in 2023, three years after that law passed and while fentanyl deaths kept climbing across the state.
Under pressure from his administration, lawmakers agreed to lower the low-level trafficking threshold from 100 grams down to 28 grams.
It was not everything Lombardo wanted. He pushed for a bill that would have made possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony, matching it with trafficking penalties. That stricter bill never got a hearing in the Democrat-controlled Legislature, the same Legislature Cannizzaro helps lead.
So the record is simple. Cannizzaro helped loosen the rules in 2019. Lombardo pushed to tighten them starting in 2023. Her own chamber blocked him from going further.
Fralick Responds
Republican Attorney General nominee Adriana Guzmán Fralick did not hold back when asked about Cannizzaro's comments. Here is her statement in full.
“Nicole Cannizzaro had the opportunity to fight for the public safety of Nevadans, and she did the opposite. Instead, she stood with Aaron Ford and their soft-on-crime agenda that has cost Nevada families dearly.
Now that she's running for Attorney General, she wants voters to forget that record? Nevadans know better.
Ford and Cannizzaro have shown us who they are: a partnership that has consistently chosen leniency over public safety.
Governor Lombardo is supporting me because he knows we need an Attorney General who will actually work with him to hold criminals accountable.
Together, we will be the team that gets tough on crime. We can't afford to lose any more Nevadans to this poison, and we can't afford to trust the Ford-Cannizzaro duo to stop it.“
What Happens Next
This fight is not over. Expect fentanyl penalties to come up again when lawmakers return to Carson City in 2027. Whoever wins the Attorney General's race this fall will shape how hard Nevada pushes on trafficking charges for years to come.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
