Colorado experienced an almost 70 percent increase in fatal fentanyl overdoses from 2020 to 2021, earning it the unenviable distinction of being in the top five states for fentanyl overdose deaths. It’s also currently the No. 1 state for car thefts and was No. 1 for bank robberies in 2021—a crime driven by desperation and addiction, according to the FBI’s Colorado branch.
Despite the statistics on significantly increasing crime, Sen. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), who’s also a candidate to represent Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, championed a Colorado measure that reduced the penalty for fentanyl possession, Erik Aadland, Pettersen’s Republican opponent for the 7th Congressional District, told The Epoch Times.
