Implementation of a Statewide Fentanyl Possession Law and Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths

Did legislation making possession of small quantities of fentanyl a felony in Colorado reduce overdose fatalities, and did mortality differ by racial and ethnic groups?In this serial cross-sectional study, opioid-related overdose deaths (OODs) increased from 20.46 per 100 000 in January 2018 to 37.78 per 100 000 adults in November 2023. Among racial and ethnic groups, the non-Hispanic Black population had the highest increase in OODs (9.3 to 56.9 per 100 000) followed by the Hispanic population.Increasing criminal penalties for fentanyl possession did not lower preexisting trends of OODs in Colorado and may be associated with an increase among the Black population.

Corresponding Author: Cole Jurecka, MPH, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, 12631 E 17th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045 (cole.jurecka@cuanschutz.edu).

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