Colorado lawmakers are set again to debate whether to allow supervised drug-use sites to open in willing Colorado cities as part of a broader legislative effort to respond to the spiraling overdose crisis.
The state legislature’s Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee voted Wednesday to draft a bill that would allow the facilities, called safe-use sites by advocates, to open in Colorado, should local authorities allow it.
The vote, which fell along party lines, is a preliminary step. The committee’s 10 members — six Democrats and four Republicans — will vote again in October to send drafted bills to the full legislature when it reconvenes in January.
But even that vote won’t necessarily be determinative: Even if the committee rejects the safe-use site bill in the fall, any legislator could revive it and file it as their own bill for the 2024 session.
A similar proposal failed in April after a Democrat-controlled Senate committee rejected it by one vote amid known opposition from Gov. Jared Polis. That vote was cast by Sen. Kyle Mullica, who also serves on the opioid committee.
On Wednesday, Mullica voted in favor of drafting the safe-use legislation but said he still had concerns — and may vote against the bill in October.
Much of the committee’s work this summer will culminate in that vote. Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat and the committee’s chair, said advancing a safe-use site bill was one of his summer priorities, and the committee has played host to planned speakers and public commenters advocating for the policy.
Police officers and prosecutors have long opposed the idea, and a panel of law enforcement officials invited to the committee reiterated that opposition in early August.
DeGruy Kennedy said Wednesday that he planned to base the draft on what he called the Rhode Island model. The legislature in that state approved a pilot safe-use site program to open locations with state and local input, licensing and oversight.
The study committee, charged with offering legislative proposals to address the opioid crisis, also voted to draft four broad bills aimed at harm reduction, prevention, treatment and recovery strategies. The exact details will be fleshed out in the coming month as individual lawmakers from the committee craft each proposal, but their planned drafting signals that the legislature will revisit drug policy in earnest in 2024.
An informal survey conducted this month by Kennedy asked committee members and stakeholders to weigh in on more than 50 potential policy ideas. The results showed interest in continued funding for naloxone, a medication that quickly reverses opioid overdoses; increased access to telehealth and opioid treatment medications; and for setting aside more money to support workforce needs, among other policies.
But allowing safe-use sites to open in Colorado scored highest, despite opposition from Republicans, law enforcement and some moderate Democrats.
Advocates have made the idea a priority request of policymakers, including outside the legislature. Ahead of Overdose Awareness Day on Thursday, a group of public commenters on Monday called on the Denver City Council to get ahead of the legislature and open a site in Denver.
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