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First In The Nation Reform Bill Limiting Unreliable Drug Test Arrests Signed By Polis
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

First In The Nation Reform Bill Limiting Unreliable Drug Test Arrests Signed By Polis

By C.J. Ciaramella | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado recently enacted a law protecting criminal defendants arrested due to roadside tests for drugs, becoming the first state in the country to recognize widespread instances of wrongful arrests due to police departments’ use of often unreliable field drug kits. Both chambers of the Colorado legislature unanimously passed House Bill 26-1020, and Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law on March 26. Under the new statute, police can no longer make arrests solely for misdemeanor drug possession based on the results of what are know as “colorimetric” field drug tests and instead must issue suspects a summons to appear in court. The act also requires courts, before a defendant enters a plea in a case where a field test was used, t...
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Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While much of the country is finally beginning to turn the corner on fentanyl, Colorado is heading in the opposite direction. And the human cost is staggering. Colorado’s numbers are still moving up—synthetic opioid deaths have climbed 17 percent since December 2024. Elsewhere, the trend has started to turn. Across the country, overdose deaths have dropped 26.9 percent, according to the CDC, the steepest one-year decline of the crisis and the lowest levels since 2019. Colorado isn’t just behind. It stands apart. A March 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute puts that gap into focus: 1,620 excess deaths. In other words, that’s how many more Coloradans died from synthetic opioid overdoses between ...
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Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws

By Jacob Mauk | Colorado Politics Overdose deaths from opioids rose in Colorado, diverging from the national trend, which has been decreasing, according to a new study from a think tank. In its new report, the Common Sense Institute said synthetic opioid overdose deaths in Colorado have grown by 17% since November 2024, the third-fastest growth rate in the country. The only states with higher spike rates are Arizona and New Mexico, according to the report. If Colorado had followed the national trend, some 1,600 lives could have been saved, the study said, adding the opioid deaths represented a cost of roughly $18.3 billion. “While this number does not encompass the entire value of human life, it does indicate that lives lost due to fentanyl and other opioids red...
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Colorado Ballot Plan to Toughen Fentanyl Penalties Moves Forward
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Plan to Toughen Fentanyl Penalties Moves Forward

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette A proposed measure that would increase penalties for fentanyl manufacturing, distribution, and possession has collected enough signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot, following several failed attempts by the state legislature to pass similar legislation. Backed by Advance Colorado, the ballot initiative would make the sale of any amount of fentanyl a Class 1 felony, punishable by up to 32 years in prison. It would also mandate court-ordered substance use treatment for individuals convicted of possession of up to one gram of fentanyl. On Thursday, family members who lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses joined legislators and law enforcement officers at Denver’s Ralph Carr Courthouse to announce that the initiative had gathered...
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A ‘Trail of Broken Lives’ Tells the Real Story of Colorado’s Legalized Marijuana
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

A ‘Trail of Broken Lives’ Tells the Real Story of Colorado’s Legalized Marijuana

By: Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Society once vilified marijuana. Later generations of hipsters laughed off the stigma.  Now, mounting evidence has brought things full circle — vindicating the psychoactive drug’s original critics after all.  Today’s high-potency pot — legalized for recreational use in Colorado in 2012 and in over two dozen other states since then — is leaving a trail of destruction. Whether it’s marijuana’s devastating impact on the mental health of our youth, or on the safety of our highways, it’s drawing overdue scrutiny that is justified by hard data. Pot’s toll in traffic fatalities in particular is back in the news. A new study by Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, looked at driver autopsy results from car crashe...
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Is Rep. Marshall’s narrow 2024 win now at risk in Douglas County?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Is Rep. Marshall’s narrow 2024 win now at risk in Douglas County?

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Rep. Bob Marshall (D-HD43) represents one of Colorado’s most politically mixed suburban districts, covering parts of Highlands Ranch and Littleton. The area is built around families, good schools, and a long-standing belief in local control and fiscal restraint. Marshall often calls himself a centrist Democrat and a retired Marine who puts people before politics. But his voting record at the Capitol tells a different story.  Marshall once appealed to a wide mix of voters. Whether that still holds is an open question, especially given how much the mood in Douglas County has changed. Prices have climbed. Crime feels closer. And faith in state leaders is wearing thin. Out of Douglas County’s 323,000 regist...
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