As the deadly scourge of fentanyl continues to claim lives across our state, ruling Democrats at the Capitol have a decision to make. And you’d think it would be an easy one.

If they do the right thing – heed mounting calls to make possession of the ultra-lethal, synthetic opioid a felony – the only loser will be their party’s “justice reform” fringe. They’re the ones who led the charge to decriminalize the drug three years ago.

But if they cave in to that fringe and only enact a toothless half-measure – eyewash to counter their party’s soft-on-crime image – they’ll give carte blanche to fentanyl’s death merchants. They’ll also take a pounding in the polls and maybe the next election. Deservedly so.

Coloradans of all political stripes are fearful and fed up. Our state has been slammed by an epidemic of overdose deaths caused by fentanyl. It’s not the kind of fentanyl that is legitimately and securely used as a sedative by our health care system. It’s the bootleg version that comes from China by way of Mexico – often in little blue tablets but also laced in a host of other illegal drugs – that is killing Colorado kids with fatal doses.

As of the end of 2021, our state had suffered 1,578 fentanyl-related deaths since 2015. That’s a staggering 1,008% increase in a six-year time span, with Colorado experiencing among the 10 highest overdose rates of increase nationwide. Since 2019, the increase in fentanyl deaths in our state has outstripped that of every other state but Alaska – surging 382% in that time.

Nationally, overdose deaths from opioids of all varieties exceed homicides by 307%.

Oblivious to the drug’s devastation and blinded by dogma, some lawmakers in the 2019 legislative session championed House Bill 1263, downgrading possession of fentanyl and other hard drugs like heroin and meth to a misdemeanor. As a result, possession of up to four grams of fentanyl – which could kill up to 2,000 people – now warrants only a ticket from police. The bill passed and was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.

The entire measure was absurd, but the inclusion of fentanyl was particularly mind-boggling given its killing strength. Denver Democratic state Rep. Leslie Herod, who introduced the measure, and the bill’s other sponsors argued that mere addicts shouldn’t be sent to prison. In reality, mere addicts who were arrested never went to prison. They were sent to rehab.

The point of making fentanyl possession a felony is to let police make an arrest – so they can get the drug off the streets. It has been likened to a weapon of mass destruction. Even a trace is a public menace. And let’s not be naive; someone in “possession” of two or three grams of the super-potent substance isn’t carrying it for personal use. Even those who aren’t peddling it are sharing it at parties, concerts – and at school. Like the Colorado Springs high-schooler who died in December after friends gave her some, and she used it in a school restroom.

As of press time Friday, a much-awaited bill addressing the issue has yet to be introduced – more than halfway into the 2022 legislative session. Even Polis, the Democrats’ state standard bearer, has been calling for legislation to fix what lawmakers broke in 2019.

If all they come up with is a measure that tinkers around the edges without making it a felony to possess fentanyl in any amount, it will be far worse than a betrayal of the public trust. It will be a license to kill for those who peddle this poison to our children.

Denver Gazette editorial board