Denver will host a two-day fentanyl summit with law enforcement representatives from across the state next month, and a second summit – focused on the health side of the crisis – is being organized.

The law enforcement-centered summit will be held on June 2 and 3, offering “intensive training courses and strategy sessions for law enforcement on all aspects of fentanyl enforcement from investigation and case building through interdiction and prosecution,” according to a news release from the city last week. The event – formally titled the Colorado Fentanyl Summit – was jointly organized by Denver City Attorney Kristin Bronson and two district attorneys overseeing several counties including Adams, Douglas and Arapahoe. 

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The summit’s topics will include, among other things, background on fentanyl; an update on state and federal drug laws; investigating fentanyl dealers; overdose mapping; and various investigation techniques and tools.

Speakers will include various prosecutors from around the state, as well as representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the Colorado and federal bureaus of investigation, and others.

“The purpose of this convening is to move beyond politics and work together to find practical solutions to this dangerous issue,” Bronson said in a statement. “The legislature has done its part – we must now turn our attention from law making to law enforcement. This summit is a critical opportunity for law enforcement to share information and best practices, analyze enforcement strategies under the new law, and discuss techniques and trends to address this public health issue on a regional and statewide scale.”

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Fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that’s stronger, cheaper and more lethal than other illicit substances – has become a dominant topic in the state. Though it has legitimate use in medical settings, illicit fentanyl has become a primary product of drug cartels, and it’s increasingly being laced into other substances. As a  result, deaths caused by the drug have increased significantly in recent years amid a shift in the drug supply and the effects of the pandemic.

To combat it, the legislature passed a bill last week that will strengthen criminal penalties on possessing small amounts of the drug and on dealers. It also includes tens of millions of dollars to buy Naloxone, fentanyl test strips and to increase crisis management and detox beds. Gov. Jared Polis has said he will sign that bill, which has drawn criticism from both public health and harm reduction experts and from various members of law enforcement.

News of the summit circulated on social media earlier this week, drawing criticism from various experts in public health and harm reduction. They questioned the apparent absence of health and addiction experts – none of whom are listed as speakers at the event, despite Mayor Michael Hancock describing fentanyl as a “public health crisis.”

The summit is the first of at least two such events, said Jacqlin Davis, spokeswoman for the Denver City Attorney’s Office. A second one, focused on public health, is in the works.

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“Our Public Health Director is planning a second fentanyl summit with public health officials from across the state to focus on harm reduction/addiction issues,” she said in an email. “The June summit is not intended to address all aspects of a highly complex issue – the focus of this one is law enforcement, and the focus of the next one is harm reduction/addiction/treatment.”

Attorney General Phil Weiser, who will be in attendance at the Denver summit early next month, will also convene a group of stakeholders – including public health, addiction and harm reduction experts – in August, his spokesman said Tuesday.