Colorado lawmakers have renewed deliberations on a proposal to allow sites for people to use drugs under supervision in order to – backers say – do it more safely and prevent overdoses.

The legislature’s discussion largely mirrors the talking points of five years ago, when lawmakers last brought a bill to allow such a center in Denver. But new faces populate the legislature this year, and Democrats have expanded their majorities in both chambers, likely giving the latest bill to authorize what supporters describe as “overdose prevention” sites in Colorado a better chance of passing.

The state House Committee on Behavioral Health spent Wednesday afternoon hearing testimony about House Bill 23-1202, which would allow cities to operate a facility where an individual can access illegal substances, including drug equipment, as well as access counseling and referral services.

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A Denver ordinance in 2018 authorized a pilot program, but a state law change is needed to allow municipalities to authorize them, according to the bill’s text.

The committee passed the bill, 8-3, late Wednesday. It’s next stop is the full house.

Supporters said these sites save lives, help connect people to treatment services and reduce instances of people using drugs in public places. Critics counter that the approach normalizes substance abuse and potentially increases crime.   

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from my residents who are finding needles in the park where children play, seeing people use drugs on trails and bathrooms, witnessing Narcan being administered behind the grocery store and losing their loved ones,” said Democratic Rep. Jenny Willford, who cosponsored the legislation, along with Rep. Elisabeth Epps, Sen. Kevin Priola and Sen. Julie Gonzales, all Democrats.

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Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 people across the U.S. in 2021, according to the Associated Press, citing estimates. And life expectancy in Colorado has dropped since 2019, driven by overdose deaths and COVID-19, according to the state health department.

Under the legislation, the sites would offer sterile equipment, fentanyl testing tools and referrals to treatment and other services.

Legislators critical of the approach said they would decrease property values for surrounding businesses, increase crime and raise public safety for nearby schools.

“It is my life experience that drug abuse, misuse and addiction is not wellness. It is a sickness,” Republican Rep. Richard Holtorf said. “Embracing the drug culture is a sickness to society. … So, I can’t equate drug abuse and addiction to wellness. There’s no way. I’m not going to cross that bridge.”

Wilford said passing the bill would not require any jurisdiction to open a center, leaving that decision to cities.

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“This bill is simply asking Colorado to allow communities to use every tool in the toolkit, and the tool we desperately need to bridge the gap between death and life are overdose prevention centers,” said Lisa Raville, executive director of the Harm Reduction Action Center.

Lawmakers brought a bill in 2018 that would have authorized Denver to create a pilot site and carved out an exception to the state’s public nuisance law. The Republican-controlled Senate rejected the legislation. A similar effort also went nowhere in 2019, after Democrats took control of both chambers in the 2018 midterm elections

The bill’s critics included the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.

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Greg Sadar, Commerce City’s deputy police chief who spoke for the association, said he’s concerned that overdose prevention centers would likely be set up in areas that already have high crime and are suffering economically, leading to more crime in those areas.

“The associated crime that comes with this is problematic,” he said, adding, “To think that (the effects are) not going to wash across smaller adjacent communities is naïve.”