Study: Fentanyl-related deaths cost Colorado estimated $16 billion last year

It takes two milligrams of fentanyl to be fatal.

A record 425.6 kilograms of fentanyl, enough to kill 36 times the state’s population, was seized in Colorado in 2023 by the Drug Enforcement Administration Rocky Mountain Field Division.

That year, Colorado had a staggering $16 billion in costs associated with fentanyl-related overdose deaths, according to a recent study by the Common Sense Institute.

“Colorado’s fentanyl problem is growing, and it is increasingly costly,” CSI officials said.

CSI’s study highlights an exponential growth in fentanyl and synthetic opioid overdose deaths and costs in Colorado.

Costs associated with fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the state in 2017 totaled $1.3 billion, less than one-tenth the costs last year, according to CSI’s study.

In determining fentanyl-related overdose death costs, CSI calculated costs associated with healthcare, lost productivity and other factors.

Since 2017, CSI estimates fentanyl-related deaths have totaled $56.8 billion in related costs in Colorado.

In 2023, Colorado saw roughly 1,200 fentanyl overdose deaths, a three deaths-per-day average. Of the total deaths, 59 percent resulted from illegally manufactured fentanyl, according to CSI’s study.

Synthetic opioids contributed to the largest increase of overdose deaths, from 130 deaths in 2018 to 1,213 in 2023, according to the study.

Colorado’s fentanyl death data dwarfs homicide numbers in the state. From 2021 to 2023, the state averaged 382 victims of homicide per year, CSI’s study found.

Amid the nationwide fentanyl crisis, CSI emphasized a need for Colorado to improve its response efforts.

Nationwide, roughly 150 people die each day from fentanyl overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Drug overdose deaths are a component of public safety and the increasing problems surrounding fentanyl are contributing to the decline in Colorado’s public safety,” CSI officials said.

Within the Rocky Mountain region including Montana, Utah and Wyoming, Colorado had roughly 75% of all 2023 fentanyl seizures, according to CSI findings.

In Denver, the growing fentanyl crisis is evident on the streets and among the homeless. Denver had only 17 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2018 compared to 342 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2023, according to reporting by Axios citing the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

Most recently, during a one-week operation in June, the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division seized around 570,000 fentanyl pills masked to look like legal prescription pills.

Effective Monday in Colorado, possessing fentanyl, carfentanil or any types of benzimidazole opiates is to be treated as a level 4 drug felony – which can result in a six to 12 month prison sentence or a fine up to $100,000.

CSI officials called the state’s recent drug enforcement measure “scant” legislation.

While noting Colorado’s per-capita fentanyl-related death counts are less than in most states, CSI officials said, “The problem is getting much worse.”