* Note: This editorial originally appeared in the Fort Morgan Times on June 14, 2023.

Despite Colorado continuing to lead the nation in several crime statistics, the 2023 legislative session was fraught with bills that will only exacerbate the problems. And the Democrat majority continues to hesitate to punish drug dealers or take any real stance in protecting Coloradoans from the growing drug issues that creep into our communities.

In fact, one bill that would have mandated increased punishment for drug dealers who had sold product that led to the death of an individual and had bipartisan support, died in the House Judiciary Committee before legislators could even debate the bill on the floor.

Senate Bill 23-109 “Criminal Penalty Controlled Substance Supplier” would have made the punishments for those who deal methamphetamine, cocaine, and other drugs commensurable with the punishments for fentanyl dealers.

Colorado leads the nation in fentanyl overdoses and yet bills such as HB23-1202 would have enabled drug users by allowing communities to open “safe injection” sites. Sounds crazy, right? These centers would give users sterile needles and fentanyl test strips, and someone would be on site to administer Narcan and other medical help if an overdose occurred. Thankfully, it died in the Senate, but we have an administration that continues to allocate money to supply Narcan to agencies that in turn offer the overdose reversal drug for free to anyone who may need it via newspaper-style boxes that are popping up all over Colorado.

So, what we are seeing now is a new era of drug use — microdosing. Addicts will get their free Narcan, take multiple small doses of a drug until they reach the tipping point of overdose, use the Narcan to bring them out of it, and then start over.

We are not opposed to giving people Narcan but putting it out in a way that is very similar to the safe injection sites is not the solution. There is a way to dispense it, but we don’t dispense it in a manner that encourages people to overdose.

Remember what happened after Democrats decriminalized fentanyl a few years ago? Deaths from overdoses skyrocketed and we had to go back to the table and come up with another bill to address the problem. Even then, we didn’t go far enough, and we are still seeing our kids dying from this horrible drug.

Regrettably, our liberal colleagues in the House decided that SB 109 was too harsh, even though these illicit substances often result in fatalities, and even worse, are almost always the catalyst for the fentanyl. House Democrats had no interest in helping avoid more tragedies and broken families from those who die from these illegal drugs.

The failure of the State Legislature to pass SB23-109 is yet another “black eye” on our state’s justice system and a sign of the majority leadership’s willingness to let criminals walk free. They would rather coddle their behaviors while ignoring those who have been harmed. The message is clear: they won’t hold the bad guys accountable and could care less for victims of drug-related deaths when fentanyl isn’t involved.

We have a national drug issue, with more dangerous drugs on their way to Colorado. The East Coast is seeing overdoses from a combination of drugs — and we need to see a legislative change that will make the law cleaner in those cases. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado’s drug overdose rate was 31.4 per 100,000 in 2021, and it is predicted to increase. This is 1,887 drug-related deaths too many.

History will repeat itself, and the fallout from the failure of SB 109 will look no different than the fallout from the decriminalization of fentanyl.

It is time we stop being soft on crime and we start holding drug dealers accountable. We are asking our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to unite in 2024 and stand up against the growing drug pandemic that is plaguing our State.

Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, represents Senate District 1, which includes Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Weld County, represents Senate District 23, which includes Weld and Larimer counties.