Colorado’s drug problems won’t be solved by endless arrests and overcrowded prisons.

 Colorado’s drug problems won’t be solved by endless arrests and overcrowded prisons. Addiction is often tied to self-control issues, trauma, stress, and avoidance behaviors that people never properly address.

Instead of allowing criminal cartels to control narcotics distribution, Colorado should explore a regulated medical licensing system for dependent users.

Under this system:

- Addicts would need approval from licensed physicians

- Mandatory toxicology, pharmacology education, and addiction counseling would be required

- Users would receive controlled, medically supervised access to their specific dependency drug

- Weekly counseling and ongoing monitoring would continue throughout the program

This is NOT about making all drugs legal.

It’s about reducing overdoses, eliminating poisoned street drugs, weakening cartel profits, lowering crime, reducing wasted court resources, and treating addiction like the public health issue it really is.

Law enforcement could then focus more on violent crime and threats to public safety instead of repeatedly cycling nonviolent addicts through the system.

A regulated system may not eliminate addiction completely, but it could save lives, reduce criminal influence, and create better pathways toward recovery and accountability.

"Hope is OUR Policy"

Fred Osborne

Fred Osborne