Colorado Ballot Proposal 15 confronts a new problem with age-old tactics, hoping harsher judicial punishment may sway fentanyl dealers and manufacturers away from distribution in Denver. Proposed Ballot 15, for the 2026 election year, seeks to modify current Colorado law HB23-1167, or the “Good Samaritan Law”. Ballot Proposal 15 suggests harsher punishments for individuals who have fentanyl, or other illegal substances, on their person in the event of said person reaching out to emergency services regarding an overdose. Should one have found themselves accosted recently for their signature from clip-board wielding individuals outside of Denver-area grocery stores and on college campuses, it is likely they were gathering petition signatures for this ballot; the signature threshold has been met as of September nineteenth of this year. 

As of 2023, under Colorado’s HB23-1167 or the “Good Samaritan” law, citizens are immune to prosecution in the event of reporting a drug overdose to emergency services. Legal protection is granted to the reporter even if they unlawfully possess controlled substances that contain “fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate…” by treating this possession as a level one drug misdemeanor rather than a level 3 or 4 drug felony. The Good Samaritan Law also provides legal leeway for individuals who are distributing or otherwise involved in the sale of the previously mentioned substances so long as the weight of their possession does not exceed four grams. The sentencing for level 3 and 4 drug felonies ranges from up to six years in federal prison, a (potential) one million dollar fine, and mandatory one-year parole. Proposed Ballot 15 demands that a felony charge be the legal precedent for fentanyl possession regardless of if the individual in possession is attempting to mitigate an overdose. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug used for pain relief and as an anesthetic. It’s also responsible for more than half of all fatal overdoses in Americans. There is a range of accurate information about the lethal danger of fentanyl; accuracy can be found in sources such as The Common Sense Institute of Colorado, whose 2023 statistic reported 1,097 fatal fentanyl overdoses in the state of Colorado. Valid information about the drug is not always what circulates online, however, as seen by a study that suggested fentanyl is making its way into marijuana, which has been largely disproven. One undisputed truth, however, is that fentanyl is an extremely dangerous substance that should not be approached in any setting other than that of a controlled medical facility, such as a hospital or pharmacy. 

“We don’t dispense a lot of the medication (fentanyl) in the pharmacy, it’s street use it’s coming from,” said Amie Matroni, a pharmacist of fifteen years, who currently oversees retail pharmacology in Highlands Ranch. Street drugs, as opposed to drugs received from a hospital or pharmacy, are remarkably dangerous for their lack of professional regulation. Potency and unknown ingredients pose massive potential risks for consumers as there is no way to verify the strength of any given substance. Fentanyl is an especially lethal substance when potency cannot be defined. The Food and Drug Administration warns, “Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.  DEA analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet.” 

Fentanyl, the FDA has analyzed, is frequently used by dealers to cut or dilute other illegal substances due to its strength and low-cost, thereby introducing a contamination of fentanyl across illegal drugs as a whole. Ballot Proposal 15 hopes harsher punishments in Colorado law will decrease the amount of fentanyl in the state, and until the 2026 election year, all Denver can do is wait in anticipation for potential salvation.