A deadly public health crisis fueled by bad legislation killed a 1-year-old girl, just moments after she ingested a tiny amount of fentanyl obtained by her parents.

Coloradans learned of the January death Thursday, after authorities arrested her parents – Alonzo Montoya and Nicole Casias -on charges of child abuse resulting in death and distribution of a controlled substance.

Hours after that news broke, Alameda International Jr./Sr. High School announced the fentanyl death of 16-year-old Kimberly Jimenez Figueroa. A parent at the school said other children overdosed but survived.

Just after that, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock announced the fentanyl death of 17-year-old Tai Burns.

Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about the tragic deaths of young people who dabbled in drugs laced with fentanyl or tried a pill they hoped would calm their nerves or ease their pain.

This drug is poison. It kills instantly when used in small amounts. There is no amount safe for self-administration. As such, the law should allow no possession of fentanyl by anyone other than licensed professionals administering it for medical purposes.

As the baby and the teenagers remain dead, Colorado legislators continue tinkering with the crisis they created. They show no signs of urgency and appear to think this is not a big deal.

Nearly three months have passed since the baby died, and legislators only recently introduced a bill to mitigate the damage they did by substantially reducing penalties for possession of hard street drugs in 2019 (House Bill 1263). They dabble with this nightmare six weeks past the day five young adults died in a Commerce City apartment after using fentanyl-laced cocaine.

The 2019 bill reduced serious consequences for possession of up to 4 grams of fentanyl – enough to kill 2,000 adults. The baby ingested 10 times the lethal adult dose of 2 milligrams, meaning she swallowed the equivalent of 0.0057ths of a teaspoon of granulated sugar.

If she had taken the minimal amount required to kill an adult, we’re talking 0.00057th of a teaspoon. It means a baby can die by encountering a trace of fentanyl so small the naked eye can barely see it. Yet, we apply a slap to the wrist when someone possesses up to 4 grams – an amount that far exceeds anyone’s personal-use intentions.

Legislators, visualize what killed the baby girl. Then explain how a sane government would allow possession of any amount of this drug, let alone quantities high enough to kill thousands.

Mark these words: Coloradans will continue mourning dead toddlers, teenagers and young adults as days go by. We have seen an alarming upward trajectory since the day HB 1263 took effect, and legislators have no serious plan to address it.

As these deaths continue, understand they come on top of Colorado’s 328% increase in fentanyl deaths since 2019. In 2021 alone, more than 800 Coloradans lost their lives to fentanyl. That makes fentanyl a higher cause of annual deaths than all combined homicides.

Despite these facts, the bill introduced to address this crisis would continue allowing possession of up to 4 grams of fentanyl without the threat of felony charges.

If that weren’t enough to make Colorado fentanyl-friendly, the bill gives “Good Samaritan” immunity to drug dealers. If the legislation is passed and signed into law, dealers who sell fentanyl to people who overdose could avoid prosecution so long as they report the incident and cooperate with investigators.

Sustained tolerance for an insane amount of possession explains why Colorado’s increase in fentanyl deaths since 2019 is second only to Alaska’s, and only by 2%.

People selling fentanyl are naturally drawn to a mainland state that essentially decriminalized possessing massive amounts. If legislators pass a fentanyl bill that protects this policy, they will send another clear message that Colorado is the safest place to possess the drug.

House sponsors include Democrats Alec Garnett and Leslie Herod and Republicans Shane Sandridge and Mike Lynch. Senate sponsors include Democrat Brittany Pettersen and Republicans Kevin Priola and John Cooke. They need to get it right, or they will deserve the blame for prolonging a policy that kills every day.

As of now, they constitute a Hall of Shame in Colorado’s fight against fentanyl.

A growing list of Republican and Democratic mayors and law enforcement leaders oppose the bill as written because it does nothing to address the deadly possession of fentanyl. They include Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen, former 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen and former Govs. Bill Ritter and Bill Owens.

Think of them as Colorado’s Hall of Fame in the fight against fentanyl.

Colorado’s fentanyl problem is second to no public health crisis in the modern era. Unlike the pandemic, there is no end in sight. Legislators must send Gov. Jared Polis a bill that discourages, with felony penalties, the possession of any fentanyl or other drugs laced with it. Most would prefer their drug-using loved ones to get hauled off in handcuffs before falling dead on the floor.

Solve this for the babies, teenagers and young adults who are dying because politicians made Colorado the country’s most welcoming environment for a poison – one so deadly a mere trace kills innocent babies.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board