Rep. Brittany Pettersen
Posted on October 22, 2026
The fentanyl crisis has devastated countless families across Colorado, including my own. But a handout to private prison companies that would cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars — all while doing nothing to target dealers and traffickers — isn’t the solution.
When I was just six years old, my mom suffered a back injury. And like so many other Americans, she was overprescribed opioids. When she was cut off from her prescription without access to treatment, she turned to heroin to avoid withdrawal. Soon, fentanyl entered the supply chain, which made her addiction even more dangerous.
We had to jump through unimaginable hoops just to get the help she desperately needed. Only after she overdosed 20 times in one year were we finally able to get funding for the care she needed through a court order.
Believe me when I say this: Prop 132 would cause immeasurable harm to those struggling with addiction.
Now, my mom just celebrated her ninth year in recovery, and serves as an example of what’s possible when we give people the medical care they need. But she’s one of the lucky ones. Because of the outdated, drawn-out process we used to have in Colorado, we’ve lost countless friends, loved ones, and neighbors who were seeking out help and support — but couldn’t get it in time.
In the state legislature, I worked to transform treatment and recovery services in Colorado to ensure that people struggling with addiction have access to the medical care they desperately need. And because of that work, our state finally saw a decrease in overdoses last year. But now, all of that progress is at stake.
This year, you will see the conservative-backed ballot measure, Prop 132, when you fill out your ballot. It’s a dangerous, ineffective policy disguised as something simple — as something that will help Coloradans battling addiction. But believe me when I say this:
Prop 132 would cause immeasurable harm to those struggling with addiction. It would increase overdose deaths. It would do nothing to target fentanyl dealers. It would do nothing to actually reduce drug use. And it does not increase funding for treatment by $1 while they lie to voters and say it does.
This is a deeply personal issue for me. I know what helps Coloradans who are struggling with addiction. And I know what hurts them too.
Prop 132 makes no distinction between a major drug trafficker and people like my mom — subjecting both to the same exact mandatory minimum sentence of 8 to 32 years. And it doesn’t do a thing to go after the root cause of this crisis: The dealers and traffickers who prey on Coloradans.
To make matters even worse, it would completely remove good samaritan protections in Colorado, making people more afraid to call for help during an overdose. The result? A projected 41% increase in overdose deaths over the next five years.
The state legislature already voted this policy down. But MAGA billionaires and conservative political operatives — desperate to funnel taxpayer money to private prisons — are trying to push it through anyway, through a deceptive, misleading ballot measure.
And if we don’t get the word out before November 3rd? They could succeed.
Coloradans deserve a real solution to this crisis — not a deceptive, dark-money-fueled scheme to funnel money directly to private prisons. Donate to No on 132 here.
U.S. Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (CO-07).
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