Real Talk About the Fentanyl Bill Waiting for Polis’ Signature

In the waning hours of their 2022 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly finally reached a compromise on a bill meant to stop the spike in fentanyl-related deaths across Colorado. After months of debate, they agreed to toughen punishments for possession of smaller amounts of the synthetic opioid. Just like the lawmakers, we made this bill our top priority for the legislative session, so Bree and Paul are looking back at how it all went down, unpacking what made it into the bill, and what’s next. 

To get a full picture of how this debate played out, here’s a rundown of our recent coverage:

• “More Like Poisoning than an Overdose” with Attorney General Phil Weiser (February 22, 2022)
• “Why the New Fentanyl Bill Has Harm Reductionists Concerned” with Harm Reduction Action Center executive director Lisa Raville (March 29, 2022)
• “Inside the Fentanyl Fight at the Capitol” with State Representative Leslie Herod (May 2, 2022)

Here’s a few of our sources for this conversation: 

• For a breakdown of all the little things that were included in the final version of the fentanyl bill, check out this piece from Colorado Public Radio.
• This Denver Post article has a good explanation of the closing minutes of the legislative session, when a flurry of compromises led up to the final vote.

Bree mentioned a new repatriation effort underway at the Denver Art Museum. For more on that fascinating story, Peyton’s going deep in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

How do you feel about the fentanyl bill our lawmakers delivered? Share your thoughts on Twitter and tag us @citycastdenver

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