Prop 132 won't fix the fentanyl crisis.
It will make it worse and send Coloradans the bill.
The billionaire backers of Prop 132 want voters to believe that longer prison sentences will solve the fentanyl crisis.
THEY WON’T.
Here’s what the facts actually say
THE REAL COST OF Prop 132
The extreme penalties in Prop 132 will cost more lives and cost Colorado taxpayers at least $566 million to make private prison corporations richer. And here's the kicker: Prop 132 doesn't provide a single dollar to pay for it.
That means Colorado families will be stuck with the bill through cuts to schools, healthcare, public transit, and other essential services, or higher taxes. At a time when Colorado is struggling to fund treatment and recovery, Prop 132 takes hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and pours it into the private prison industry.
PROP 132 isn’t a solution. It's a blank check for thE private prison industry, and Colorado families will pay the price.
New study projects increaseS in overdose deaths if Prop 132 Passes
This extreme policy will cost more lives. Prop 132 would create a 41.3% increase in overdose deaths in Colorado over five years, according to a new analysis.
+1,718
PROJECTED ADDITIONAL DEATHS
+41.3%
PROJECTED INCREASE OVER 5 YEARS
WHAT HAPPENS IF Prop 132 PASSES? ¹
1000+
PEOPLE IN PRISON, EVEN ACCIDENTAL FIRST-TIME OFFENDERS
$413k
TO BUILD ONE NEW PRISON CELL
$143.7M
TO RUN THOSE PRISONS FOR 5 YEARS
$566M+
PROJECTED COSTS IN JUST THE FIRST FIVE YEARS TO INCARCERATE MORE PEOPLE, BUILD NEW PRISONS OR LEASE PRIVATE PRISONS
$0
ALLOCATED BY THE MEASURE TO PAY FOR ANY OF IT
↓
Less money for schools, healthcare
& public services
↑
Higher taxes for you, because there’s no plan to pay for it
What Prop 132 Actually Does:
It treats a teenager sharing a single pill the same as a major drug trafficker, with a mandatory prison sentence of 8 to 32 years – no exceptions.
It charges people with felonies even if they had no idea fentanyl was present or no money was exchanged. It rigidly removes a judge's ability to consider the circumstances when sentencing.
It strips the full legal immunity that currently protects Good Samaritans who call 911 during an overdose, replacing it with the possibility of criminal charges. Some bystanders will decide the risk isn't worth it. That decision will cost lives.
Instead of investing in treatment, it doubles down on incarceration.
It makes Colorado's overdose crisis worse, and forces our most vulnerable communities to pay the price.
Prop 132 DOES NOT:
It does NOT increase penalties for high-level drug traffickers or dealers.
It does NOT expand access to treatment.
It does NOT provide new funding for recovery services.
It does NOT reduce fentanyl overdose deaths, and will likely increase overdoses by 1,700 in the first five years alone.
Prop 132 PUNISHES THE WRONG PEOPLE
59%
OF COLORADANS PREFER PREVENTION OVER PRISONS²
62%
OF COLORADANS DISAGREE WITH THE MEASURE’S LACK OF FUNDING THAT PUTS SCHOOLS AND HEALTHCARE AT RISK.²
80%
OF COLORADANS AGREE THAT A TEENAGER SHARING ONE PILL SHOULD NOT FACE THE SAME SENTENCE AS A MAJOR DRUG TRAFFICKER.²
The worst part?
Prop 132 is going to siphon away budgets for essential services to do it, or increase taxes for every Coloradan.
WHAT REAL SOLUTIONS LOOK LIKE
Voting NO on Prop 132 is not a vote to “do nothing.” It's a vote to demand laws that actually work, and funding to support them.
Real solutions target drug traffickers, not teenagers, people struggling with addiction, or those who never knew fentanyl was involved.
Real solutions expand treatment and recovery services, especially in rural Colorado, where too many families are still waiting for help that never comes.
Real solutions mean giving law enforcement, first responders, and treatment providers the tools and funding they actually need.
Prop 132 does none of that
Instead, Prop 132 punishes the wrong people.
It increases incarceration.
It puts more lives at risk.
It leaves Coloradans with a bill they can't afford.
ALL WHILE PRIVATE PRISONS PROFIT.
VOTE NO ON Prop 132.
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