By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Colorado U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans is leading the charge for a new bill in the U.S. House to combat the growing fentanyl crisis throughout the country.

While Evans is a Republican, he co-sponsored the “Combatting Fentanyl Poisonings Act” with U.S. Rep. Adam Gray, D-California.

If passed, the bipartisan bill would establish new taxpayer-funded grant programs designed to assist state and local law enforcement agencies and nonprofits.

“This legislation will help to educate families, while giving our law enforcement the tools and critical resources they need to combat this and keep Coloradans safe,” Evans said. “Everyone deserves to live in a community free from the threat of fentanyl poisonings.”

Over the past few years, there has been a steep increase in the number of fentanyl deaths in Colorado.

In 2019, there were 222 fentanyl-related deaths. In 2023, there were 1,097. That is a nearly 400% increase in just four years.

This is according to a June report from the Common Sense Institute of Colorado, which also found that fentanyl accounted for 68% of all drug overdose deaths in 2023. That is a 25.7% increase from 2020.

Many organizations, both in Colorado and nationally, have endorsed the legislation. Those include the County Sheriffs of Colorado, the Colorado Police Protective Association, Victims Of Illicit Drugs and the National Association of Police Organizations.

“The spread of fentanyl in our communities is devastating,” said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations. “The Combatting Fentanyl Poisonings Act focuses on the deadly impact this poison has on our nation’s youth by providing resources to law enforcement, schools, families, and victims to combat and deter sales of fentanyl on social media and to educate communities on the dangers of this illicit drug.”

Johnson added that fentanyl dealers are directly targeting America’s youth, pointing out that 75% of teen overdose deaths are now linked to fentanyl.

The bill hopes to help provide additional education to youth and better equip law enforcement by funding the following grant programs:

• $10 million for state and local law enforcement to track down and arrest fentanyl dealers who target youth online and to provide training to schools, clinicians and the public on prevention.

• $3 million for nonprofits focused on youth education, to help Narcan, etc.

• $2 million for state and local law enforcement to equip officers Narcan and other protective gear

This bill would not require additional funding, but would instead use funding already distributed to the Department of Justice.

In 2022, Colorado state legislators implemented stricter penalties for fentanyl possession and distribution, but many argue more needs to be done. Especially as, in 2023 alone, 425.6 kilograms of fentanyl was confiscated in the state. That’s enough to kill every Coloradan 36 times.

“Families across our state have suffered from the devastating impacts of fentanyl and this legislation is a critical step forward,” the County Sheriffs of Colorado said in its endorsement of the bill. “This will not only help to educate Coloradans, but give our law enforcement the necessary tools, training and further resources to respond to and combat this drug in our communities.”

Currently, only six members of the U.S. House have joined as cosponsors on the legislation. It is currently awaiting consideration in the House Judiciary Committee, where it was first referred on Sept. 26.