Proposition 132 (Statutory)

Colorado’s fentanyl crisis demands serious consequences for drug trafficking as well as effective treatment for people struggling with addiction, but Initiative 85 relies too heavily on escalating felony charges and lengthy prison sentences. It would make distribution of any amount of fentanyl or certain other synthetic opioids a Level 1 drug felony and significantly increase penalties for possession, resulting in an estimated $44.6 million in additional prison costs over five years. While the measure includes treatment opportunities for some lower-level possession offenses, increasing incarceration and criminal penalties does not by itself address the addiction, treatment access, prevention, and public-health challenges driving overdose deaths. Colorado can hold dangerous traffickers accountable without adopting an unnecessarily broad and costly expansion of felony sentencing.