Comparing apples to oranges

The confusing relationship between decriminalized substances in Colorado and a skyrocketing number of opioid overdoses across the nation

The idea of spending time behind bars for marijuana is almost inconceivable to the contemporary Coloradan. Weed has been legalized throughout the state for eleven years now, and the entire culture around it is unrecognizable from what it used to be.

What was once a substance that carried with it steep legal penalties is now sold legally in establishments that double the number of Starbucks and McDonalds throughout the state. The centennial state ventured even further into progressive drug policies and decriminalized psilocybin in 2022, the psychoactive component in “magic mushrooms,” and is figuring out how to make it available for recreational purchase in the near future.

But it is easy to forget that most of the United States does not share the same view on drugs. Most of the country still looks at Colorado like a college freshman who came home for Christmas break just to argue with their republican uncles. But there is more nuance to the surface appearance put on by Colorado’s progressive drug laws.

Colorado is often criticized for its leniency on substances like psilocybin and marijuana. Opponents of legalization and decriminalization believe these laws have resulted in other drug-related issues occurring around the state, such as the rising number of fatal overdoses.   

Sean T. McAllister, Executive Officer of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, shared the following sentiment. “There is no relation between the decrim of psychedelics and the use of harder drugs that result in overdose. In fact, in general, the use of psychedelics, if done intentionally, leads to less hard drug use and certainly less alcohol use.” Serving as the head of McAllister Law Office, P.C. in Denver, he is an experienced lawyer familiar with psychedelic law. He is also on the board of directors of Chacruna, an organization that researched the after-effects of Oregon’s total decriminalization of drugs in 2021.

Colorado has undoubtedly suffered a spike in deaths from opioid abuse in recent years. It is also true that Colorado has decriminalized marijuana and mushrooms during a similar time frame. However, the two issues barely merit a logical comparison. But for some reason, the supposed connection between them has us trapped in legal gridlock and will do so until there is some clarification.  

First, many supporters of decriminalization in Colorado do so to see a number of societal changes other than just penalty-free consumption. Those who supported living in a state with relaxed drug laws did so for reasons more refined than the simple ability to smoke pot and be slightly less paranoid in public. Many just wanted to see fewer people being forced to serve time in jails and prisons for possessing personal amounts of drugs.   

It appears that the goal of decriminalization has been achieved. The legalization of marijuana has done far more than solidify our reputation as the “hippy” state. It has caused fewer people to be arrested for possession of the plant.

This does not mean that Colorado has become a haven for all drug users. The arrest rates for all drug-related crimes show that users and those in possession of substances other than marijuana and psilocybin still comprise a vast majority of those interactions with law enforcement.  

Furthermore, the rising number of overdoses occurring throughout Colorado is an issue all its own and emblematic of an issue affecting all 50 states in some capacity. Even regions with low tolerance drug legislation are being hit hard by the deadly wave of opioid-related deaths sweeping the nation.

As of December 2022, Texas had the highest incarcerated population in the United States, with a total of 139,631 registered inmates. Of those inhabiting state-run jail facilities, 45.1% were behind bars for a drug-related offense. Moreover, a truly alarming 98.4% of those same inmates had been arrested for drug possession, according to data by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  

The number of people serving time for drug possession in Texas may not be all that surprising, considering they were arrested in Texas. The Lone Star State has long been known for its admiration for law enforcement. The home of the world-famous Texas Rangers is probably not the place to let you slide for a couple of grams in a zip-lock baggy. Despite being a state with a notoriously low threshold for judicial mercy for drug users, it has not remained unscathed by the opioid overdose epidemic. When compared to a state like Colorado, with far more relaxed drug policies, similarities begin to arise.

In 2022, a total of 1,799 Coloradans died from drug overdoses, and 4,844 Texans suffered the same fate. Based on each state’s population, those numbers look like 0.02% of all Texans fatally overdosed, while 0.03% of all Coloradans overdosed. The numbers are not as impressive when broken down that far, but they do show that the number of people overdosing in both states is within a hundreth of a percent of each other.

The similarities begin to fade when the data surrounding the number of inmates convicted of drug offenses are compared. These amounts are profoundly different in both states.

Colorado has 17,246 total inmates as of November 2023. According to the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, “Drug-related crimes account for less than 1 in 11 people serving sentences in Colorado prisons.” Therefore, only 9.09% of Colorado inmates are comprised of people arrested for drugs.   

Colorado’s relaxed penalties on marijuana and psilocybin appear to have a positive impact in terms of maintaining a lower number of people incarcerated for drugs. At the same time, they appear to have had no correlating factors to the increase in opioid-related deaths, and neither did Texas’ much more drastic laws.  

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In the future, many states may seek to follow in the footsteps of Colorado and consider implementing drug legalization and decriminalization policies of their own. In order for those other states to base their decisions on what the data shows regarding the effects of more forgiving drug policies, not what the data could be indicating toward independent factors like opioid overdoses, the topics must be handled separately.  

The numbers show that decriminalization has decreased the number of people serving time for drug offenses in an already overcrowded prison system. The data also reveals that the opioid overdose epidemic is an issue all its own that deserves its own unique solutions that will not be found comparing policies and topics that are apples and oranges to one another.