A 31-year-old Grand Bay woman faces life in prison for trafficking a large amount of fentanyl while taking her children to school, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Alexis E. Alexander was arrested on Thursday and booked on charges of trafficking fentanyl, possession of narcotic paraphernalia and two counts of chemical endangerment of a child.

According to the sheriff’s office, Alexander left Thursday morning to take her children to school.

When she returned home, Sheriff’s deputies arrested her in her driveway. They discovered 38 grams of fentanyl in her car along with $1,000 in cash.

The Sheriff’s Department, in a news release, noted a new Alabama state law that provides for a minimum mandatory prison sentence for people convicted of trafficking fentanyl.

Under the new law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on April 6, Alexander could face a life sentence because she was in possession of more than 8 grams of the deadly drug. The new law also applies a minimum fine of $750,000 upon those convicted of trafficking the drug.

The new law went into effect on July 1, after it was approved by Alabama state lawmakers during this past spring’s legislative session amid concerns over a rash of overdoses from illicit fentanyl use.

The illegal use of fentanyl has led to a surge in overdose deaths nationwide. The drug is considered far more powerful than heroin, where two milligrams is considered a potentially lethal amount — and where one gram is said to have the potential to cause 500 deaths.