Last December, a high school student died at her desk after ingesting a fentanyl pill. Tragically, she is one of the latest victims of the largest public safety crisis Colorado has experienced.

Since January of 2021, on average, two Coloradans die each day from a fentanyl overdose. Since 2015, 1,578 Coloradans have died from a fentanyl-related death, a 1008% increase in six years.

Between 2017 and 2021, Colorado law enforcement has seized more fentanyl on our state highways than ever before – a 403% increase in four years.

Just a few weeks ago in Commerce City, five people died from an overdose caused by fentanyl-laced cocaine. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration reported that this was the largest single fentanyl overdose in U.S. history.

If you’re wondering why fentanyl is in the news so much lately, it’s because Coloradans are dying every day due to devastating policies enacted by state legislators.

In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed and Gov. Jared Polis signed HB19-1263, the Offense Level For Controlled Substance Possession Act, which reduced the possession of less than four grams of fentanyl, and other hard drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin, from a drug felony to a drug misdemeanor. This legislation, which the majority of Republicans opposed, returned drug dealers to the street, creating a public safety policy of catch-and-release.

Even though this legislation has been in effect for only two years, Colorado is leading the nation in the rising number of fentanyl fatalities, second only to Alaska. Currently, the law allows possession of up to four grams of fentanyl, which could kill up to 13,000 people.

During the past few weeks, I’ve been working with the speaker of the House to develop legislation to address this crisis. Unfortunately, the legislation as currently drafted only addresses distribution or possession of over four grams of fentanyl or over four grams of a substance that contains fentanyl.

Throughout these negotiations, I’ve been insisting that this change does not go far enough. Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose – only addressing fentanyl possession above four grams doesn’t actually address the problem.

At the start of the legislative session, Colorado House and Senate Republicans came together to present our Commitment to Colorado. This legislative package focused on three priorities – increasing affordability, prioritizing public safety, and expanding educational choice. We’ve been doing all we can to strengthen this legislation and address our public safety crisis in order to make our communities safe following the scourge of crime increases over the last three years.

I’ve spent the past few months talking to law enforcement and district attorneys about this issue and what can be done to address it. They have been telling me that this legislation doesn’t go far enough. That this is one more bill brought forth by Democrats that eviscerates their ability to do their jobs and keep Coloradans safe.

I’m a sponsor of this bill because any action is better than no action; and while I’ll be in support of any legislation that tightens the penalties on fentanyl possession, this legislation scratches the surface of what actually needs to be done to prevent our kids from dying from overdoses at their desks.

As the political pressure to act has grown steadily, Democrats have decided to take action to address this crisis.

As long as I have the honor of serving in the Colorado House of Representatives, I’ll be fighting for legislation that increases the penalties for violent and destructive criminals.

Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, represents the District 49 in the Colorado state House.