AURORA | Aurora lawmakers will decide tonight whether to ask voters to vote down a statewide proposition to impose minimum and mandated prison sentences for fentanyl users caught with the drug in their possession.

“Targeting those with addiction for, not even having a milligram (of fentanyl) in their possession, and saying that ‘automatically qualifies them for a minimum sentence of eight to 32 years is ridiculous,” Councilmember Gianina Horton told the Sentinel last week in talking about her pitch for the council to publicly rebuke statewide Prop 132.

The city council has been split so far as it as tentatively agreed to make a public statement against the ballot proposal, created by a right-wing advocacy group.

Prop 132 would boost and mandate punishment for anyone in the state convicted of possessing the potentially fatal and highly addictive street drug.

Liberal and progressive city lawmakers point to prevailing research consensus showing that criminalizing drug addicts doesn’t reduce public use and abuse rates and complicates the already Herculean attempt to end abusers’ addiction.

“Decades of research from the ‘60s, and especially starting in the ‘80s, when we saw an increase of incarceration for drug-related offenses and crimes,” show that get-tough court mandates don’t work, Horton said.

Aurora city lawmakers moved the anti-Proposition 132 measure forward from a city council study session two weeks ago after debate and a split vote.

Prop 132 was spearheaded by Advance Colorado, a conservative advocacy group that has the, which continues a streak of elevating ballot initiatives aligned with conservative and what it describes as a “tough-on-crime” approach to legislation.

Republicans who have backed the proposition, such as George Brauchler, district attorney for Douglas County and former DA for Arapahoe County, argue that a get-tough fentanyl sentencing approach will crack down on drug offenders and reduce the considerable Colorado usage of the drug.

While the number of Colorado residents who use fentanyl is unclear, fentanyl-related deaths have been climbing in the state, pushing past 1,800 in 2025, according to state health officials, marking a 13% increase over 2024.

At a press conference last year after the initiative made the ballot, Brauchler said, “… there’s going to be a ballot measure that does something we should have done years ago, and that is to have a low-to-no-tolerance policy when it comes to drug dealers who peddle fentanyl into our communities.” 

Under current Colorado law, it’s a felony for someone to possess more than four grams of fentanyl or a compound containing fentanyl. If someone possesses less than four grams, but more than one gram of the same substance, they could be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony based on whether the individual knew they were in possession, and at court discretion.

Possession under a gram is a misdemeanor under current law. 

If voters in November approve Prop 132, possessing any quantity of the substance could net convicts a felony and come with a mandatory prison sentence of between 8 years and 32 years. Within the measure, some low-level offenders could be allowed court-ordered treatment in lieu of jail time. 

Aurora City Council meets at 6 p.m.

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