Opponents of Proposition 132 conceded defeat Thursday evening, and on Friday The Associated Press declared that Colorado voters had passed the measure. Under it, possession of any amount of fentanyl will be a felony in the state.
Proposition 132 makes manufacturing, distributing or selling fentanyl, carfentanil and other listed synthetic opioids a Level 1 drug felony, punishable by 8 to 32 years in prison. The rules are set to take effect in 2027. The measure also toughens penalties for people who possess the substance but do not know it contains fentanyl.
According to nonpartisan legislative analysts, the measure will require an additional $7.5 million for the Colorado Department of Corrections in its first full year in effect. The five-year cost was estimated at about $142 million. Fentanyl has been cited as the cause of about 1,000 overdose deaths a year in Colorado since 2021.
The initiative was drafted by the conservative organization Advance Colorado. The group’s vice president, Kristi Burton Brown, wrote in an email to CPR that the state can now reverse an unfavorable direction on fentanyl. Kyle Giddings, head of the “No on 132” group, called the result deeply disappointing and said he would keep fighting for effective solutions.
Proposition 132 is a statutory measure, so the state legislature can change it. Governor-elect Phil Weiser said Wednesday that he has doubts about the measure. Propositions 132, 133, 134 and 135 can be repealed or amended by a simple majority vote in the legislature.
Voters also approved Propositions 134 and 135, though by narrow margins. Proposition 134 requires that participation in school sports be based on sex assigned at birth, and Proposition 135 bans certain surgical procedures for people under 18 that are intended to change biological sex characteristics. Weiser and other Democrats could propose changes to those laws.
Source: CPR News
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