How Alexandra’s Law Works

Legal Framework
Alexandra’s Law is codified in California Health and Safety Code Section 11369. This statute mandates that courts provide a specific advisory to individuals convicted of certain drug offenses involving fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, or phencyclidine, and the analogs of any of these substances.

Advisory Requirement

Upon conviction or a guilty/no contest plea to violations of Sections 11351, 11351.5, 11352, 11378, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, or 11379.6 involving a hard drug, the court shall advise the individual as follows:

“You are hereby advised that it is extremely dangerous and deadly to human life to illicitly manufacture, distribute, sell, furnish, administer, or give away any drugs in any form, including real or counterfeit drugs or pills. You can kill someone by engaging in such conduct. All drugs and counterfeit pills are dangerous to human life. These substances alone, or mixed, kill human beings in very small doses. If you illicitly manufacture, distribute, sell, furnish, administer, or give away any real or counterfeit drugs or pills, and that conduct results in the death of a human being, you could be charged with homicide, up to and including the crime of murder, within the meaning of Section 187 of the Penal Code.”

This advisory is provided to ensure that offenders are explicitly informed of the lethal risks associated with their actions and the potential legal consequences if their conduct leads to a fatality.

Documentation

The advisory statement must be provided to the defendant in writing, either on a plea form, as an addendum to a plea form, or at sentencing. The court is required to:

  • Specify on the record that the advisory was given.

     

  • Record this fact in the abstract of the conviction.

This documentation creates a clear record that the individual was warned about the dangers and legal repercussions of their actions.

Mechanism of Accountability

By providing this advisory and documenting it, Alexandra’s Law establishes a basis for implied malice. If an individual continues to engage in the illicit manufacture or distribution of hard drugs after receiving the advisory, and such conduct results in a person’s death, prosecutors can argue that the individual acted with a conscious disregard for human life. This can support charges of homicide, including murder, under Section 187 of the Penal Code.

Through these provisions, Alexandra’s Law aims to deter individuals from engaging in the distribution of dangerous drugs and to hold accountable those whose actions result in loss of life.