Progressive House Democrats won the latest skirmish Wednesday night in their efforts to allow facilities where people can use illegal drugs under the supervision of medical professionals.

House Bill 1028 would allow municipalities to set up such facilities, which the bill calls “overdose prevention centers.”   

Under the bill, as amended, drug users would be able to bring and use “controlled substances” under the supervision of medical providers. 

The sun was an hour away from setting when lawmakers began debate on HB 1028. By the end of the debate, the midnight hour was not far away.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, is the founder and executive director of the Colorado Freedom Fund, which hired lobbyists to work for its passage.

Communities with these sites see increased crime, said Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud. Dealers are making a living off of these centers and camp outside of the sites and property values drop, while crime goes up, he said, adding it sets up a dangerous situation.

The bill does not set any limitations on where such a facility could be located, which Republicans pointed out could mean a site could be placed near a school. Several amendments to put distance between a site and a school, ranging from 2,000 feet to a half-mile, failed.

Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, suggested on social media the sites ought to be placed across the street from the homes of Epps and Rep. Tim Hernandez, D-Denver.

This bill is about allowing municipalities to open safe use centers if they want to, said Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver. The only one likely to open anytime soon is Denver, he added. “It’s about harm reduction, keeping Coloradans safe.”

Five years ago, the Denver City Council authorized such centers, the only local government to do so. However, those centers never opened because the city is waiting on required state authorization to put its plan into motion.

Mabrey said medical experts who work with this population universally support “harm reduction” over the “over criminalization” of drug use.

“We should treat our siblings who struggle with addiction with basic humanity and love,” and the bill says communities can do so, if they want to, he said. 

More than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2021 nationwide, a 15% increase from 2020, he pointed out. 

In Colorado, the overdose crisis has spiraled out of control in the last few years. Last year alone, Denver witnessed 582 overdose deaths, 129 more than the previous year, according to Denver’s medical examiner data. It’s the worst since the city began keeping overdose records a century ago. 

Studies show these kinds of centers prevent overdose deaths, reduce the volume of discarded syringes, and they save lives, Mabrey claimed. There are more than 100 sites in Canada and Europe in the last 30 years, and these services prevented fatal overdoses that are well-documented, he told the House.

Seeking to countered Armagost’s assertion around crime, Mabrey cited information from the British Columbia Ministry of Health that said crime and overdoses reduced in the neighborhoods around the sites.

Mabrey was heckled by Republicans with chants of “liar.”

Communities want a safe place to help people in the throes of addiction, Mabrey said, adding, “Cities should have every tool to save lives.” 

Epps ran a similar bill in 2023 that died in a Senate committee hearing, based on concerns about a gubernatorial veto. An interim committee last October rejected the opportunity to sponsor the 2024 version.

The bill is slated for a final vote on Friday.

In a statement to Colorado Politics last year, a Polis spokesman said the governor “has been clear with Coloradans and the legislature that he is opposed to these drug use sites.”

“He looks forward to continuing to work with the legislature to get people help for substance use disorders, end the scourge of fentanyl, and crack down on drug dealers in support of making Colorado one of the ten safest states,” the spokesperson said. “There is also great uncertainty nationally about the role of the federal government and how they would enforce against these sites that are already operating in other states.”