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Our call — vote YES
The measure
This is a citizen-initiated statute on fentanyl crimes. It makes possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony — with a path for a person possessing less than one gram who completes court-ordered treatment to have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor — and it requires a mandatory prison sentence of 8 to 32 years for distributing any amount of fentanyl, eliminating options to reduce penalties for certain possession and distribution offenses and limiting sentencing exceptions, including in cases where a fentanyl crime causes another person's death.
What YES does
A YES vote enacts the felony possession rule, the treatment-based reduction for small-quantity possession, and the mandatory 8-year minimum for distribution.
What NO does
A NO vote keeps minor fentanyl possession a misdemeanor, keeps tiered distribution penalties based on quantity, and keeps existing penalty-reduction options.
The math
The Blue Book's fiscal analysis, as reproduced in the guide cited below, identifies no change to any tax, TABOR refund, or revenue destination for this measure — the Blue Book fiscal summary published for it assigns no tax or refund figure, and corrections costs of longer sentences are not given a published dollar estimate in the material cited. No dollar fiscal estimate is published for it.
OUR CALL
Our call: YES.
Fentanyl kills at quantities measured in milligrams, which is why quantity-tiered penalties written for other drugs fail for it. This measure is tougher and smarter at once: distribution of any amount draws real prison time, while the small-quantity possessor is routed to treatment with the felony as leverage. Protecting life from a poison that is flooding the state is a core function of government. YES.
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Sources
- Ballotpedia, List of Colorado ballot measures — https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_Colorado_ballot_measures
- Colorado 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book), Legislative Council Staff, as reproduced in the Colorado 2026 ballot measures guide — https://whipplewood.com/insights/colorado-2026-ballot-measures-guide/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.