Florida may soon implement a new tool to stop the growing problem of opioid abuse.

A bill written by one of the Bay Area’s representatives is aiming to charge opioid dealers with murder.

Gerrie Stanhope is one of the many of mothers in Manatee County who has lost a child to a fentanyl overdose.

“I lost a son in 2014, a grandson in 2015. I lost my other son’s girlfriend in 2015, and I lost my daughter-in-law’s niece in 2015, so it’s real close to my heart,” Stanhope said.

More than a year ago, Stanhope helped start a group called No Longer Silent, putting a face on the growing problem.

In the past three months the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has seen 28 deaths from opioid overdoes.

Captain Todd Shear said, “We lead the state in deaths per capita in the state of Florida. A lot of people refer to us as the epicenters.”

Fentanyl and carfentanil are synthetic versions of the drug. A smaller amount of fentanyl is just as lethal as a dose of heroin.

“If you have 4 ounces or 4 grams of heroin, it’s considered a trafficking amount. If you have 4 ounces of carfentanil, which is 100 times more potent than heroin, there is not a trafficking charge,” Shear said.

House Bill 477 passed in committee this week.

Under the bill, drug dealers who sell fentanyl, carfentanil, or any mixture like that will receive harsher sentences.

If the bill passes, those synthetic drugs would be on the same playing field as other illicit drugs, including charging drug dealers with manslaughter if someone overdoes.

Stanhope said she has mixed feelings about the new bill.

“I do think the dealers should be punished, then they are taken off the streets. But the problem with that is there are two more right behind them.”

The sheriff’s office said while the bill is on the right track, it’s going to take the entire community to stop opioids in Manatee County.

The bill will go up for debate next month.