Colorado voters increase penalties for possessing, selling fentanyl

Penalties for possessing, selling and distributing fentanyl and other synthetic opiates will increase in Colorado next year after voters approved Proposition 132.

The Associated Press hadn’t called the race yet, but opponents of the measure conceded defeat Thursday. The initiative was passing at 8:53 a.m. Friday with 52.7% of the votes counted in favor and 47.3% opposed.

Proposition 132 will make it a Level 1 drug felony, punishable by between eight and 32 years in prison, to manufacture, distribute or sell a list of synthetic opiates, including fentanyl, carfentanil or a benzimidazole opiate. 

The measure will make it a Level 3 drug felony, punishable by up to four years in prison, to possess between 1 and 4 grams of a substance containing certain synthetic opiates, like fentanyl. For possession of a substance up to 1 gram, the offense would be a new Level 4 treatment-mandated drug felony, punishable by up to one year in prison — though someone could have their charge reduced to a misdemeanor by completing a court-ordered drug treatment program.

The law takes effect in 2027.

Gov.-elect Phil Weiser and Democrats in the state legislature said they are already discussing how to tweak Proposition 132 and several other ballot measures.

☀️ READ MORE

State law currently allows for lighter sentences such as probation and treatment, and prohibits state prison for certain offenders who, for example, possess small amounts of fentanyl without an intent to distribute.

The measure is projected to increase Colorado’s prison population and cost the state millions in additional annual spending on prisons.

In its first full year, nonpartisan legislative analysts estimate Proposition 132 will require $7.5 million in additional spending for the Colorado Department of Corrections, with a five-year cost of about $142 million. That doesn’t include the potential cost of reopening a prison if the state runs out of existing space, a problem it’s grappling with now. That could add upwards of $400 million in costs to build a new facility, under the nonpartisan estimate.

The measure is expected to  require nearly $1.4 million more in spending in the first full year for the judicial system to increase court staff and public defenders.

The ballot measure follows years of debate in Colorado over how to tackle the opioid crisis, particularly the spread of fentanyl, which has caused a surge in overdose deaths.

Fentanyl has been blamed for roughly 1,000 annual overdose deaths in Colorado since 2021.

The conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado, which doesn’t disclose its donors, brought Proposition 132. Common Sense America, another conservative political nonprofit, which also doesn’t disclose its donors, spent large sums to pay signature gatherers to get the measure on the November ballot.

Brighter Colorado, an issue committee that backed several conservative ballot measures this year, including Proposition 132, raised about $6.1 million, most of it from conservative political nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors.

Coloradans for Real Safety Solutions was the main issue committee fighting Proposition 132. It raised about $1.1 million during the election cycle, with major donations from Lynn Schusterman, a Democratic donor and philanthropist from Oklahoma; the ACLU of Colorado; and the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.