DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado legislative session ends in a little more than two weeks, but leaders from both parties want to get some big things done before then.
The Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Act is at the top of both sides’ lists.
The bill proposed putting millions of dollars towards fentanyl test strips, naloxone, education and other prevention tools, but what has people divided is the part proposing tougher criminal penalties for possession.
It also originally made the unlawful possession of any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that weighs more than 4 grams and contains any amount of fentanyl, carfentanil or an analog thereof, a level-four drug felony.
But after hours of testimony last week, a committee changed it to make it a felony to possess 1 gram or more of the drug.
Many in law enforcement want any possession to be a felony, including Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen.
“What I can say is that I’m very disappointed,” Pazen said last month before the amount of possession was dropped from 4 grams to 1 gram. “Disappointed that possession hasn’t been addressed and when we are talking about fentanyl, we’re talking about something completely different here. This is unlike any other drug that we have ever had to work through in our community.”
Leaders at the State House said they’re still working on getting the bill to get agreement from all parties in the Capitol.
“Right now I think it’s a work in progress. I would like to see it get to zero,” Colorado House Minority Leader Hugh McKean said. “I think fentanyl is one of those drugs that you have to decide, do you want to get it off our streets or not? and that means zero tolerance in many ways.”
“I think if you go to zero, what you end up doing is you end up criminalizing people who are suffering from substance use disorders, and our criminal justice system isn’t equipped at the moment to help handle those people suffering from addiction,” Speaker of the House Alec Garnett said.
Inflation and the high cost of living are other issues for both sides of state Congress. The Denver metro area has the seventh-highest rate of the 20 U.S. metros listed in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Food prices are up 9.1%, household energy prices 17.2% and shelter 7.1%.
Don’t miss the discussion with host Matt Mauro Sunday morning on “Colorado Point of View” starting at 7:30 a.m. on Channel 2.
