Coming to the Colorado Ballot in November
This ballot measure will substantially increase prison sentences for drug offenses where fentanyl has been detected. It is sponsored by the conservative political organization Advance Colorado.
What this measure would do:
Make any amount of fentanyl possession a felony, including first-time cases.
People would face 8 to 32 years in prison for distribution. Even one pill. Even a first offense.
Applies the same 8 to 32 year prison sentences to people who share drugs – even if no money was involved – as major traffickers.
Send nearly 900 more people to prison each year
What this measure would NOT do:
It would not increase penalties for the highest-level drug traffickers. It keeps the penalty the same as current law.
It would not reduce drug use or drug sales.¹ ² ³
It would not disrupt the drug supply.²
It would not expand access to treatment.
It would not reduce overdose deaths, and may increase them. ¹ ³
THE CONSEQUENCES
Young people would face 8–32 year prison sentences
Right now, 8 to 32-year sentences apply only to the most serious drug trafficking cases.
This measure would require at least 8 years in prison — even for minor, first-time cases. Judges would have no choice. An 18-year-old sharing even one pill with a friend would face the same 8 to 32-year prison sentence as the highest-level drug trafficker.
You don’t have to know
fentanyl was there
Street drugs are often mixed or cross-contaminated with fentanyl. Under this measure, a person could face the highest drug felony — even if they did not know fentanyl was present.
No funding for the treatment it mandates
The measure mandates treatment for first-time, low-level possession cases. Colorado ranks near the bottom for access to treatment, and the measure provides no new funding. This could increase waitlists by placing some people into treatment who may not need it, while others seeking help wait longer.
COST IMPACTS OF THE FENTANYL BALLOT MEASURE
How much does this cost?
Nonpartisan legislative council⁴ prepared a cost estimate and found that this measure would:
Increase the prison population by nearly 900 people/year
Require major prison expansion because the current system cannot handle the growth
Building one new prison cell costs about $413,000.⁵ Keeping one person in prison costs about $68,000 per year.⁶ This measure provides no new funding to build or operate prisons — or to expand treatment.
900
MORE COLORADANS IN PRISON/YEAR
$413,000
FOR EACH NEW PRISON CELL
$68,000
FOR EACH PERSON IN PERSON/YEAR
How would the state
pay for the added costs?
The measure increases prison costs and requires treatment in some cases but provides no funding to pay for either. Colorado must balance its budget under the state Constitution. That leaves only two options:
Raise taxes and fees, or
Cut funding from other priorities,
like K–12 schools, higher ed,
or healthcare.
“Research consistently shows that neither increased arrests nor increased severity of criminal punishment for drug law violations result in lower levels of either drug sales or drug use. Rather, the behavior that is likely to be deterred is the life-saving seeking of medical assistance by those who are present at an overdose."
— Dr. Leo Beletsky
Professor of Law & Health Sciences at Northeastern University; faculty of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine; interdisciplinary social epidemiologist who explores the role of law and law enforcement as structural determinants of health
WHO IS BEHIND THIS MEASURE?
Advance Colorado, a conservative political organization.
Encourage friends to
get the facts before voting.
Share our ‘Get the Facts’ guide to the Fentanyl Ballot Measure. For more information, or to invite a speaker to your event, contact us at ballot@ccjrc.org.
SOURCES
¹The Pew Charitable Trusts. ‘More Imprisonment Does Not Reduce State Drug Problems: Data show no relationship between prison terms and drug misuse’. March 2018
²Harris, Katharine Neill. ‘Controlled Substances: Federal Policies and Enforcement’ Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, 11 March 2021
³Colorado Behavioral Health Administration. ‘Measuring the Health Impacts of Felonizing Fentanyl Possession’ CU School of Medicine and School of Law, January 2025
⁴Legislative Council Staff Nonpartisan Services Fiscal Impact Statement. Initiative 85: Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes, August 2025
⁵Legislative Council Staff Nonpartisan Services Fiscal Impact Statement. SB26-015, February 2026
⁶Colorado Department of Corrections. FY24 Annual Statistical Report, 2025