Colorado voters to decide on harsher fentanyl penalties on 2026 ballot

A measure backed by a conservative dark-money group proposing tougher penalties on fentanyl possession and distribution will appear on Colorado’s 2026 ballot, the secretary of state’s office announced.

Initiative 85 is the first measure to qualify for the 2026 ballot. It’s backed by Advance Colorado, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group that does not disclose its donors. Supporters last month said they had turned in more than 180,000 petition signatures for the measure, and state elections officials confirmed Monday that the group had submitted the 124,238 valid signatures required to place a statutory initiative on the statewide ballot.

The measure would make the possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony, further rolling back a bipartisan drug policy reform passed by Colorado lawmakers in 2019. It would also mandate harsher penalties for the “distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or sale” of fentanyl.

“Fentanyl remains the single biggest public health issue facing our state,” John Kellner, said in a statement posted to social media by Advance Colorado. “While steps were taken at the state Capitol to try and address the situation, those steps did not go nearly far enough.”


https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-fentanyl-penalties-2026-ballot/