This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a law in late May which will declassify single-use drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor for Schedule I and II substances.
HB19-1263 takes effect at the beginning of 2020 and should bring single-use drug possession cases from Longmont that used to be a felony charge taken to Boulder County Justice Center to a misdemeanor charge in a Longmont courtroom.
“The one thing that would change significantly is how many cases we have at the Longmont courthouse. Any felony case is prosecuted in this building in downtown Boulder. When the law changes, misdemeanor drug cases will be prosecuted in Longmont,” said Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.
Under the newly passed law, those caught with no more than four grams of substances such as cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and most other illegal drugs would face a misdemeanor instead of a felony charge. Dealers would still be punished with a felony, and that a fourth or subsequent offense is a level 4 drug felony.
“We need to recognize that drug addicts being incarcerated does not necessarily cure them of the addiction or solve the problem long term,” said Dougherty. “Unlike other district attorney's offices, we've been already giving misdemeanor offers dispositions in these cases for quite some time. Another thing we've already done before this law was enacted is we expanded our diversion program to allow for low-level possession cases to be considered for diversion where drug treatment will be part of it.”
A Joint Budget Committee report found savings anywhere from $8.6 million to $13.7 million over the next five years citing parole savings and prison bed impact as the central savings for taxpayers.
“I'm optimistic that the legislature is going to continue to look for funding, to find funding for drug addiction treatment in the community,” said Dougherty. “Part of that goal is to send fewer people to state prison on drug cases. We should be taking those savings and putting them towards drug treatment in the community.”
