As Colorado’s legislature continues to dally over demands from the public to re-criminalize fentanyl – Coloradans continue to die from overdoses of the deadly drug at an alarming rate.

Indeed, the increase in deaths caused by the synthetic opioid in our state has outstripped that of every other state but Alaska since 2019 – soaring 382% over the past two years.

That startling statistic and a host of other grim facts were released in a report last week by the national organization Families Against Fentanyl. Among other findings in the group’s analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Since 2015, Colorado has been among the 10 states where fentanyl-related deaths increased the fastest.

In the same period, Colorado was among the five states (including the District of Columbia) where fentanyl fatalities rose by over 1,000%.

Just last year, illegal fentanyl killed 709 people in Colorado, 645 more than in 2015.

Sobering statistics, to say the least. Nationwide, meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control announced in December that fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death for 18- to 45-year-olds since 2020 – killing more members of that age group than COVID-19, car crashes, suicides, cancer and gunshots combined.

Families Against Fentanyl was founded by James Rauh, an Ohioan who lost his son to fentanyl in 2015. Since then, he has been fighting relentlessly to have authorities at every level of government across the country crack down on the ultra-potent, hyper-lethal chemical. As Coloradans know from the headlines, fentanyl is far worse than just another oft-abused drug; it is effectively a poison – as little as two milligrams can kill the average human being – and has been turning up in bootleg pills and an array of other drugs whose users don’t even realize it.

Rauh’s organization is pushing to have the federal government declare illegal fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction so authorities can mount a more formidable, cohesive response. This is not to be confused with the fentanyl used in medical procedures; the stuff in Rauh’s sights is made in China and processed in Mexico for distribution on U.S. streets.

In 2019, lawmakers at the Capitol inexplicably downgraded possession of fentanyl and other Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances from a felony to a misdemeanor. As a result, possession of up to four grams of fentanyl – which could kill up to 2,000 people – now warrants no more than a ticket from police. As we noted here recently, the decriminalization was touted as a stride for “justice reform.” It was in fact a free pass for career drug dealers.

Incredibly, ruling Democrats who control the majorities in both legislative chambers at the State Capitol have been dragging their feet in fixing the 2019 bill. Blind dogma makes some of them oppose arresting and jailing those who possess lethal amounts of fentanyl. The lawmakers say it is wrong to incarcerate those they see as mere addicts rather than drug peddlers.

Never mind the well-founded argument by law enforcement that many purportedly “victimless” addicts of fentanyl and other drugs have lengthy criminal records including for violent crimes. Just consider the absurdity of writing a ticket to someone in possession of enough fentanyl to poison thousands of unsuspecting people.

Gov. Jared Polis agrees the 2019 law needs to be changed. Colorado needs its elected lawmakers to send the governor a bill doing just that. Now.

Denver Gazette editorial board