Fentanyl on the Ballot: Tougher Penalties & Mandatory Treatment
~Anne Boswell
In today's segment of the Colorado News Your Way Ballot Breakdown, Drugs.
You, the voter, will get to decide in November how Colorado deals with offenders caught with Fentanyl with tougher penalties.
So, our state already has felony penalties for offenses connected to fentanyl but the measure, if approved would toughen those. In addition, offenders would be required to get treatment in some cases.
There's a lot to it but let's start here:
SIMPLE POSSESSION
Current Colorado law | Initiative 85 | |
Any amount of fentanyl/synthetic opioid | Level 4 drug felony | Level 4 drug felony |
Treatment | Court may impose treatment/sentencing requirements under existing law | Mandated treatment for certain possession convictions |
Possible prison range for Level 4 | 2–6 years presumptive range, depending on sentencing circumstances | Same Level 4 classification, but the measure changes how certain sentences and treatment are handled |
Here's a big impact area of the ballot initiative:
If someone is caught selling, distributing, manufacturing, or dispensing.
Current law:
Colorado currently grades fentanyl-related distribution/manufacturing/sale offenses according to the amount involved.
Generally:
Less than 4 grams: Level 3 drug felony
4–50 grams: Level 2 drug felony
More than 50 grams: Level 1 drug felony
The seriousness increases with the quantity.
WHAT CHANGES?
Initiative 85
The initiative would essentially eliminate those quantity-based distinctions for the specified fentanyl/synthetic-opioid offenses.
ANY AMOUNT involved in:
manufacturing
dispensing
selling
distributing
possessing with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell or distribute
inducing, attempting to induce or conspiring to do those things would become a:
The Colorado Legislative Council's official review specifically says the measure would make these offenses a Level 1 drug felony no matter how much.
It's important to note, there's a lot to this but here's something you might want to know for sure. If someone supplies fentanyl and the person who takes it dies, Initiative 85 would make the existing sentencing consequences tougher and remove an exception available under current law.
As mentioned above, there's mandatary treatment for fentanyl crimes.
This is important because the measure combines criminal punishment with compulsory treatment, rather than simply increasing prison sentences.
Finally, Section 1-40-105 (1), Colorado Revised Statutes, requires the directors of the Colorado Legislative Council and the Office of Legislative Legal Services to "review and comment" on initiative petitions for proposed laws and amendments to the Colorado Constitution. So, here's the legal comment if you're interested:
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