“Colorado's current laws are much too soft on fentanyl dealers. Under current law, an individual can possess up to one gram of fentanyl, which contains 500 lethal doses, and only be charged with a misdemeanor. Mandatory jail time is rarely imposed on dealers, and there is no requirement for treatment programs for those struggling with addiction. Dealers walking the streets with enough fentanyl to kill hundreds are receiving minor punishments that do not match the crime.

Colorado needs tougher penalties to address the seriousness of the fentanyl crisis. We must address the gaps in the law that are making our state more dangerous. 

This measure provides the right balance between accountability and compassion. We have an opportunity to get this drug off our streets, protect our families and neighbors, and offer help to those who need it most.” - Advance Colorado 

“What we’re dealing with right now in the state of Colorado is a public health crisis. The leading cause of death in the nation for 18-to-45-year-olds is fentanyl, and you can take care of it right here with this ballot measure by holding drug dealers accountable for the deaths of children, the deaths of parents, and the deaths of a loved one. These families deserve to have justice, and they are not getting it right now. The legislature has failed by making drug laws weak and hamstringing law enforcement. It’s time to hold the people that are peddling poison to our children accountable, and it’s time to get help to those people that need help. It must stop with the current state of affairs, with the people lying in the streets, dying from fentanyl overdoses.” - Byron Pelton, State Senator 

"There is no amount of fentanyl distribution that should be tolerated. And so, there won't be. If you sell, if you possess with the intent to sell, you manufacture drugs with fentanyl in them, you are now going to face eight to 32 years in the Department of Corrections. But at the same time, this measure does something that is also needed, and it provides the appropriate incentive for those who are addicted to this poison to get the treatment — the court ordered, and hopefully resource treatment — that they need to no longer be afflicted with this addiction.” - George Brauchler, District Attorney 

“It's really important to be clear that increasing criminal penalties for Coloradans who are struggling with substance use disorders will not deter crime. There are decades and decades and decades of research that show that the era of mass incarceration did not make us safer... Why are we talking about expanding prisons and doubling down on mass incarcerations when we need to be talking about funding schools and health care. The fentanyl crisis is ultimately a public health crisis, and we need to treat a public health crisis with a public health response. We have already been down this road with the War on Drugs in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It didn't make us safer, it did not reduce drug use. That is clear.” - Javier Mabrey, State Representative 

"Imprisoning a drug offender for longer periods of time does not solve their drug addiction issues or lessen the societal costs of drug addiction. The absence of any relationship between states’ rates of drug imprisonment and drug problems suggests that expanding imprisonment is not likely to be an effective drug control and prevention strategy. In addition, this ballot measure mandates sentences for fentanyl-related crimes and takes away a judge’s discretion to consider circumstances of individual cases when handing down sentences.” - League of Women Voters of Colorado