Drug dealer has been using since Grade 3, says B.C. judge who went against precedent in sentencing

A British Columbia judge went against precedent when determining a sentence for a woman who pleaded guilty to trafficking potent opioids in the province.

A British Columbia judge went against precedent when determining a sentence for a woman who pleaded guilty to trafficking potent opioids in the province.

The Crown had asked for three years behind bars.

Instead, Tanya Ellis's sentence was suspended, and she was given a year of probation with some conditions.

This is despite pleading guilty in 2019 to trafficking fentanyl and cocaine/fentanyl. The powerful opioid can be deadly when taken on its own or in combination with other drugs.

Though fentanyl is sometimes used as a prescribed painkiller, its entry into the street-drug market was a contributing factor in calling a public health emergency over fatal drug overdoses in B.C. – an emergency that remains in place more than five years later. According to data from B.C.'s chief coroner, fentanyl has been a factor in 84 per cent of fatal illicit drug overdoses so far this year.

So some, especially those who've lost a loved one to the opioid crisis, may be questioning the severity of Ellis's sentence, given that she admitted to dealing the deadly drug.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Ellis sold drugs to an undercover police officer on multiple dates in 2019. Upon her arrest, police said they seized hundreds of dollars in cash, as well as crack cocaine, an iPhone, a digital scale with residue on it from several drugs including fentanyl, and five unused sandwich baggies.