It only takes 2 milligrams of fentanyl to be fatal.

A record 425.6 kilograms of fentanyl — enough to kill the state’s population between 16* and 26 times over, depending on the purity of the drugs — was seized in Colorado in 2023 by the Drug Enforcement Administration Rocky Mountain Field Division.

That year, Colorado saw 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,” the group said.

Highlighting an exponential growth in fentanyl and synthetic opioid overdose deaths and costs in Colorado, the group said that costs associated with fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2017 totaled $1.3 billion, the CSI study.

That’s less than one-tenth the costs last year, the study said.  

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

Since 2017, fentanyl-related deaths have totaled $56.8 billion in related costs in Colorado, the group estimated.  

Initially, the group said enough drugs were seized to kill all Coloradans 36 times over. Acknowledging the purity of the drugs vary, the group modified its calculation to say the drugs could kill every Coloradan between 16 and 26 times over.     

CSI said 44% of tablets sampled in 2021 contained at least 2 milligrams of fentanyl and if that ratio was applied to the drugs seized last year, there would be enough to kill Colorado’s entire population 16 times over. 

Steven Byers, the report’s author, told The Denver Gazette that if a higher lethal percentage is applied — he cited the DEA as saying 70% of the drugs seized contained a lethal dose — there would be enough to kill all Coloradans roughly 26 times over.     

“It’s a chronic problem,” Byers said.   

In 2023, Colorado saw roughly 1,200 fentanyl overdose deaths — translating to three per day on average. Of the total deaths, 59% 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 said.

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

Amid the nationwide fentanyl crisis, CSI said Colorado should improve its response efforts.

“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 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 homeless people. Drug overdose deaths hit the city harder in 2023 than they ever have in 100 years of record keeping. Homeless people made up more than half of the overdose deaths, according to the data.

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 will be as a Level 4 drug felony, which can result in a six to 12 month prison sentence or a fine up to $100,000.

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

Editor’s note: CSI modified its report to say that the drugs seized last year could kill every Coloradan between 16 and 26 times over. The group initially said 36 times over.