AURORA, Colo. — Aurora's Government Relations Committee approved a resolution this week opposing Colorado's Initiative 85, a statewide ballot initiative which would make possession of any amount of fentanyl — even under one gram — a felony offense.
Under current Colorado law, a felony possession charge only applies to amounts over one gram.
The resolution opposing the measure now heads to a full vote at the next Aurora City Council meeting.
Initiative 85 would also require court-ordered treatment for users and expand habitual criminal classifications for drug possession charges.
Aurora resident Manige Blackburn-Giles said the issue is personal for her family.
"Last year was a really rough one for our family. We had two funerals related to fentanyl overdoses."
Council members Gianina Horton and Amy Wiles are among those opposing the measure, arguing that increasing incarcerations won't fix the problem.
"If this passes, we could be looking at an increase of overdose deaths across our state," Horton said.
Not everyone on the council opposes the initiative. Angela Lawson spoke in favor of it during the meeting.
"I believe there are times when the state needs clear consequences for serious offenses. Given the danger of fentanyl and what it has done to our communities, I believe this is one of those situations," Lawson said.
George Brauchler, District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, also supports an aggressive approach to fentanyl.
"It is the most deadly poison that I have seen trafficked in any measurable quantities over a period of time, and we need to try to address it aggressively," Brauchler said.
The Second Chance Center, a nonprofit supporting individuals returning to the community after incarceration, says a lack of access to behavioral health and substance misuse support is the core issue — particularly in Aurora.
"Individuals are faced with very long wait times, and oftentimes, if an individual is waiting up to six months to, for instance, be placed into inpatient treatment, it may be too late by the time they get that call," said Candice Sporhase-White, deputy executive director of the Second Chance Center.
Blackburn-Giles said she wants to see Aurora's elected leaders take a clear position.
"It's important that Aurora City Council takes a stand because people trust their electeds to help them understand these things," Blackburn-Giles said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
