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

ABSTRACT:

Importance

In 2022, Colorado passed legislation making possession of small amounts of fentanyl, a high-potency synthetic opioid, a felony. Whether the Colorado law affected opioid overdose fatalities and whether those effects differed by racial and ethnic subgroups is unknown.

Objective

To estimate the association between the change in criminal penalties for fentanyl possession with opioid-related overdose deaths (OODs) in Colorado.

Design, setting, and population

Serial cross-sectional study comparing OODs among adults (≥18 years) who died of an overdose and population estimates before and after Colorado House Bill (HB) 22-1326 was enacted in July 2022 (January 2018-November 2023) using autoregressive integrated moving averages (ARIMA) model time series forecasting.

SUBMITTER: Jurecka C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12317351 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature