G.D. Hancock, Ph.D.

Colorado

Colorado has one law on supplying drugs that cause a death.

Statutes last checked 7 October 2026 · Not legal advice

Supplying drugs that cause a death

Distribution of fentanyl causing death

Added in 2022 (HB22-1326). Distributing, manufacturing, dispensing or selling any amount of a substance containing fentanyl, carfentanil or a fentanyl analog is a level 1 drug felony when it is the proximate cause of the death of a person who used it.

Statute
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-405(2)(a)(III)
Penalty
Level 1 drug felony: 8 to 32 years in prison, plus a fine of $5,000 to $1,000,000. Where the amount was 4 grams or less, the mandatory prison term does not apply. (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-401.5(2)(b), (7))

Colorado's official statutes are published through LexisNexis; the links here go to FindLaw's copy.

Calling for help: the Good Samaritan law

A person who reports an overdose in good faith (to police, 911 or a medical provider), stays until help arrives, identifies themselves and cooperates is immune from arrest and prosecution for the offenses the law lists, as is the person who overdosed. Unusually, the list includes the fentanyl distribution-causing-death offense where the amount was 4 grams or less, and distributing or transferring under 18-18-405(2)(d)(II).

Statute: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1-711

Does calling for help protect against the drug-death charge? In part.

Colorado's Good Samaritan law lists the fentanyl death offense, but only where the amount was 4 grams or less.

Whatever the law says, if someone is overdosing, call 911. A life comes first. More on calling 911.

Federal law

Federal law applies in every state. When death or serious bodily injury results from using a Schedule I or II drug that a person distributed, federal law sets a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life. Federal prosecutors can bring this charge whatever the state law says. (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)-(C))

Cases from Colorado in the database sample

11 cases in the published sample of the drug-induced homicide case database were prosecuted in Colorado. The database is still being built; the complete version will be published when it is finished.

Sources

  1. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-405(2)(a)(III)
  2. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1.3-401.5(2)(b), (7)
  3. 2022 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 225
  4. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1-711
  5. 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)-(C)

Links to FindLaw go to its copy of the state’s code, used where the official code is published only through LexisNexis or will not display without JavaScript.

About this information

This page describes what the statutes say, as of 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and it can’t tell you how a court will apply the law to any particular case. Laws change; check the statute, and please speak to a lawyer in Colorado about your own situation.