Get the facts before you vote on Prop 132, the felony fentanyl measure

This November, Colorado voters will face one of our longest ballots ever. As many as 15 different statewide ballot measures could be up for a vote. It's a lot to process, so we're starting early.

Today, we're here to warn you about one of the very worst measures headed for the Colorado ballot this November: Proposition 132, a measure designed to mislead voters, and to throw people in jail when they need help most.

For years, patients seeking relief from pain were intentionally hooked on products like Oxycontin by the pharmaceutical industry, then forced into illicit use when the "legitimate" supply ran out. In recent years, easy availability of the powerful but deadly opioid fentanyl has resulted in thousands of overdoses and deaths in Colorado.

Proposition 132's "solution?" Make every person struggling with opioid addiction a felon.

Instead of helping people in need treat a medical condition, Proposition 132 would simply make any amount of fentanyl possession a felony, even for people arrested for the very first time. It would subject a person who gives even a single pill to another person to the same mandatory prison sentence as a cartel drug trafficker—8 to 32 years in prison. Even worse, Proposition 132 would require these outrageous sentences even if the person didn't know what they possessed was fentanyl.

Proposition 132 won't reduce fentanyl overdose deaths—in fact, it's projected to do the opposite. Proposition 132 pays lip service to drug treatment, but provides no funding. The end result? Enough people to fill a whole new prison each year, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars to taxpayers.

Proposition 132 isn't about solving any problem. It's about scaring voters and filling private prisons. The cynical conservatives behind this measure hope it will frighten certain voters into turning out to support the rest of their agenda. But if Proposition 132 passes, real people—maybe someone you love—will pay the price.

Take a moment right now to Get The Facts from our friends at the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition about Proposition 132. Learn about the grassroots coalition fighting against this terrible ballot measure, and what you can do to help stop Proposition 132 this November. This just isn't the way to help our friends and neighbors.

Thanks for your time, and stay tuned for more important updates on this year's fast-approaching election.

← Back