Colorado just passed a very strict fentanyl criminal bill — Legislature summary is here. The bill covers any possession of fentanyl:
The bill makes the unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or sale of a material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing fentanyl, carfentanal, or an analog thereof:
- A level 1 drug felony if it weighs more than 50 grams;
- A level 2 drug felony if it weighs more than 4 grams, but not more than 50 grams; and
- A level 3 drug felony if it weighs not more than 4 grams.
There is, as I understand, an ability to have the charge reduced to a misdemeanor is the defendant can convince the court they had no knowledge of possession — but that burden of proof is on the defendant, not the prosecutor.
This would include a mixture of products that has a trace amount of fentanyl in it — one of the major points of discussion and debate around the bill.
I understand the concern about fentanyl but I am asking a different question — will the enforcement be unbiased? The reason for this question is simple - like other drugs, fentanyl has found its way into a lot of white, not BIPOC, hands.
Will law enforcement and prosecutors take the “don’t want to ruin this well off, white kids life” position on one side while throwing the book at any BIPOC kid? If so, we have created the crack 2.0 problem, selectively throwing people in jail that are already disadvantaged?
I think this will be something to watch very closely in the next few years.