Coming to the Colorado Ballot in November
This ballot measure substantially increases prison sentences for drug offenses where fentanyl has been detected, and is projected to increase overdose deaths. It is sponsored by the conservative political organization Advance Colorado.
Join us for our SIPPIN’ ON FACTS event series to get the breakdown on this and other conservative-backed ballot measures.
What this measure would do:
Make any amount of fentanyl possession a felony, even first-time cases.
A person sharing even one pill would face the same mandatory 8 to 32-year prison sentence as the highest-level drug trafficker.
The mandatory sentence applies even for a first time offense, even if no money was exchanged, and even if the person did not know fentanyl was present.
Result in approximately 1,718 additional overdose deaths over 5 years.¹
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.² ³ ⁴
It would not disrupt the drug supply.³
It would not expand access to treatment.
It would not reduce overdose deaths.¹ ² ⁴
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.
⚠️ More people would die of overdose in Colorado
Research has consistently found that interruptions in treatment, periods of incarceration, and barriers to continuing care can increase overdose risk. The fentanyl ballot measure increases criminal penalties but does not expand access to treatment.
A Colorado-specific scientific analysis conducted by an expert in modeling the relationship between criminal legal policies, treatment access, and overdose outcomes, found that the fentanyl ballot measure could result in 1,718 additional overdose deaths over five years — a 41.3% increase compared with current Colorado law.
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 PRISON/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
¹ Barocas, Joshua. ‘Projected Overdose Mortality Outcomes Under Colorado Ballot Initiative #85' (Memorandum), June 2026
²The Pew Charitable Trusts. ‘More Imprisonment Does Not Reduce State Drug Problems: Data show no relationship between prison terms and drug misuse’. March 2018
³Harris, Katharine Neill. ‘Controlled Substances: Federal Policies and Enforcement’ Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, 11 March 2021
⁴Colorado Behavioral Health Administration. ‘Measuring the Health Impacts of Felonizing Fentanyl Possession’ CU School of Medicine and School of Law, January 2025
⁵Legislative Council Staff Nonpartisan Services Fiscal Impact Statement. Initiative 85: Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes, August 2025
⁶Legislative Council Staff Nonpartisan Services Fiscal Impact Statement. SB26-015, February 2026
⁷Colorado Department of Corrections. FY24 Annual Statistical Report, 2025
The ‘Get The Facts’ Coalition:
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), ACLU of Colorado, Advocates for Change, AFSCME Denver, Alternatives to Violence Program Colorado, Be the Epitome, Broken No More, Center for Health Progress, The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Denver, Citizens Project, Colorado Black Women for Political Action (CBWPA), Cobalt, Colorado Coalition for Restorative Justice Practices, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Colorado Common Cause, Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Misuse Prevention, Colorado Consumer Health Inititiative, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, Colorado Drug Policy Coalition, Colorado Fiscal Institute, Colorado Foundation for Universal Healthcare, Colorado Freedom Fund, Colorado Health Network, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy & Research Organization (CLLARO), Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR Latina), Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS/HIV (CORA), Colorado Providers Association (COPA), Colorado Psychiatric Society, Colorado Village Collaborative, Colorado Wins Local 1876, Colorado Working Families Party, Colorado Youth Justice, Community Economic Defense Project, Conservation Colorado, Crossroads Turning Point Inc, Crowley Foundation Inc, Denver Activist Women's Group (DAWG), Denver Democratic Socialists of America (Denver DSA), Denver Justice Project, El Movimiento Sigue, Empowerment, End Slavery Colorado, Fully Liberated Youth, Gang Rescue and Support Project, Gorman Consulting, Grief Recovery After Substance Passing, Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND), Harm Reduction Action Center (HRAC), Hazelbrook, Hazelden Betty Ford, Healthier Colorado, High Rockies Harm Reduction, Humaniticares LLC, Indivisible Colorado, Indivisible Colorado Action Network, Indivisible Denver, Indivisible Denver Action, Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, Korey Wise Innocence Project, Krizman Law, La Plata County, League of Women Voters of Colorado, Legislation Inside, Liberty & Justice for All, LLC, Life-Line Colorado, Lighthouse Consultants Colorado, Manna-The Durango Soup Kitchen, MEAPTA Inc, Mi Familia Vota, Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, Movimiento Poder, Mutual Aid Monday, Nantli Duala & Family Support LLC, National Action Network Colorado, New Era Colorado, One Colorado, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Porch Light Health, Progress 4 All, ProgressNow, Promotores de Esperanza, Recover Simply, Redeemed Ones Jail & Prison Ministry, Inc, Restorative Justice Practice, Second Chance Center, Shorter Community AME Church, Signal Behavioral Health Network, Soul 2 Soul Sisters, Spero Justice Center, Steadman Group, Stout Street Foundation, Stout Street Recovery, Studio Harris, TeeSpark, The Bell Policy Center, The Vilomah Foundation, Vivent Health, Yarrow Collective, Young and Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism