Skip to Main Content

February 2025 legislative update

The General Assembly has returned for its 2025 session, and several bills related to substance use, behavioral health, and opioids are making their ways through various committees.

The Consortium follows many bills and attempts to keep our stakeholders updated. We have posted a list of the bills and key provisions on our website. This is current as of Feb. 11.

The legislature’s website is the source for definitive information, including an up-to-date schedule and the latest amendments. Click the title of each bill to go to the relevant page.

SB25-033 Prohibit New Liquor-Licensed Drug Stores.

Bill Sponsors: Senators Amabile and Roberts and Representatives Ricks and Weinberg.

Assigned to Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee, which passed the bill on Feb. 6. It now will be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday, Feb. 14.

The bill prohibits the state and local licensing authorities (licensing authorities) from issuing a new liquor-licensed drugstore license (license). Licensing authorities may continue to renew existing licenses. The bill prohibits an owner, part owner, shareholder, or person interested directly or indirectly in a liquor-licensed drugstore from having an interest in more than 8 licenses.

SB25-042 Behavioral Health Crisis Response.

Bill sponsors: Senators Cutter and Amabile, Rep. Bradfield.

Assigned to Senate Health & Human Services Committee, which passed the bill on Feb. 6. It now will be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday, Feb. 14.

This is a bill that comes from the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. 

The bill:

  • requires the department of public safety (DPS), in collaboration with the behavioral health administration (BHA), to convene a stakeholder group to identify existing resources and model programs that communities throughout Colorado utilize when responding to behavioral health crises, including, but not limited to, co-responder programs, alternative response programs, and mobile crisis response programs;
  • requires DPS to compile a list of the existing resources and model programs and make the resources and information about the model programs publicly available on DPS’s website.
  • requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF), the department of public health and environment, and the BHA to provide information to the general assembly on or before January 1, 2027, regarding the reimbursement shortages and gaps within the continuum of care for the behavioral health crisis response system and the reimbursement and funding options at the state and federal level that are available to address the shortages and gaps, including funding for treatment in place.
  • requires HCPF, Upon receiving the necessary federal authorization to reimburse an institute of mental health disease for providing inpatient mental health care and treatment to a member for up to 60 days, as long as the average length of stay does not exceed 30 days per calendar year.
  • requires the evaluation of each person detained for an emergency mental health hold to include an assessment to determine if the person continues to meet the criteria for an emergency mental health hold.
  • requires the BHA to include in its annual report to the general assembly the reason for discharging each person who is placed on an emergency mental health hold.
  • requires each behavioral health entity, facility, and hospital, NO LATER THAN December 31, 2025, to provide information to the BHA about the behavioral health entity’s, facility’s, or hospital’s medical and behavioral health-care capabilities.
  • the bill requires the BHA, in coordination with HCPF and the health information organization network, beginning October 1, 2025, and continuing annually until October 1, 2030, to prepare and submit a report to the general assembly on behavioral health data interoperability.

SB25-044 Synthetic Opiates Criminal Penalties.

Bill sponsors: Senator Pelton and Rep. Armagost.

Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee, which voted 4-to-3 to kill the bill on Feb. 10.

The bill changes existing fentanyl possession by making it a level 1 drug felony if a person manufactures, dispenses, sells, or distributes, or possesses any amount of a synthetic opiate with intent to do the same with any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate, or an analog thereof (qualifying controlled substance). The bill repeals penalty level provisions involving manufacture or distribution of a qualifying controlled substance that are weight- or circumstance-dependent, and related immunity and sentencing requirements. The bill makes the possession of a qualifying controlled substance a level 4 drug felony. The bill repeals the following provisions of law related to the penalties for possessing a qualifying controlled substance:

  • A provision that reduces the penalty if the fact finder in the case finds that the possessor made a reasonable mistake of fact and did not know that the material, compound, mixture, or preparation contained fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate, or an analog thereof; and
  • A provision that requires a court to vacate the drug felony conviction and enter a conviction for a level 1 drug misdemeanor upon the defendant’s successful completion of a community-based sentence to probation or to a community corrections program.

SB25-066 State Contracts with Opioid Antagonist Businesses

Bill sponsors: Senators Lundeen and Mullica.

Assigned to Senate Health & Human Services Committee; a hearing has not yet been scheduled.

In contracting for the bulk purchasing and distribution of opioid antagonists, the bill requires the department to contract with an opioid antagonist medication distributor. However, the bill prohibits the department from contracting with an opioid antagonist medication distributor if the distributor:

  • Was found liable for the manufacture or distribution of an opioid that resulted in an opioid-related overdose;
  • Is or was a liable party to a settlement agreement for the manufacture or distribution of an opioid that resulted in an opioid-related overdose; or
  • Is or was liable for a fine or penalty levied by a governmental entity for the manufacture or distribution of an opioid that resulted in an opioid-related overdose.

The bill requires the department to implement a competitive selection process for the bulk purchase of opioid antagonists.

The bill declares any contract or agreement that does not comply with the contracting requirements of the bill is void and unenforceable.

SB22-072 Regulation of Kratom

Bill Sponsors: Senators Mullica and Pelton and Representatives Lindsay and Soper.

Assigned to Senate Finance Committee, which passed the bill and sent it to the Senate Appropriations Committee. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Section 1 of the bill repeals certain provisions regarding the regulation of kratom that are included in Sections 2 and 3 with amendments. Section 2 prohibits a processor from manufacturing, packaging, labeling, or distributing in the state a food or dietary supplement that consists of kratom leaf or kratom leaf extract (kratom product) unless the manufacturer of the kratom product has obtained a registration of the kratom product (registration) from the executive director of the department of revenue (executive director). 

A manufacturer of a kratom product that is manufactured, packaged, labeled, or distributed in the state without a registration is subject to a civil penalty.

SB25-076 Intoxicating Substances & Social Equity Business

Bill sponsors: Senators Amabile and Pelton and Representative Kyle Brown.

Assigned to Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The bill requires the labeling of regulated marijuana and regulated marijuana products to include the amount of total THC per package and a solid color strip on the face of the packaging that indicates THC potency of marijuana or a marijuana product by showing the corresponding color as follows:

  • If the THC potency is less than 5%, the color strip is blue;
  • If the THC potency is at least 5% but less than 15%, the color strip is yellow;
  • If the THC potency is at least 15% but less than 50%, the color strip is orange; or
  • If the THC potency is at least 50%, the color strip is red.

A marijuana store must post, at all times and at every point of sale, a sign that explains the meaning of the color strips.

Inhaled marijuana is required to have the following labeling:

  • The amount of THC per serving;
  • The amount of THC per package;
  • The number of servings per package; and
  • Directions for consumption of a serving.

The bill adds inhaled marijuana and requires that its serving size is limited to 10 milligrams and the package weight to 500 milligrams.

The bill forbids a retail marijuana store, a retail marijuana transporter, a marijuana hospitality business, a retail marijuana accelerator store, and a retail marijuana hospitality and sales business from selling, distributing, permitting the sale of, or offering to sell or distribute the following to an individual who is 25 years of age or younger:

  • Retail marijuana that has a THC potency that is higher than 10%; or
  • Inhaled retail marijuana that contains an added flavor ingredient.

A natural medicine license holder is prohibited from manufacturing, distributing, or transferring natural medicine or a natural medicine product that:

  • Is a candy product, gummy, chocolate, or other confection;
  • Contains a concentrated form of a natural medicine or natural medicine product;
  • Is consumed by or administered by a means other than oral ingestion; or
  • Contains an added flavor or sweetener.

Current law creates a social equity program that gives loans, grants, and technical assistance to disadvantaged persons by helping an approved applicant to obtain a marijuana license and start a marijuana business. The funding comes from the marijuana tax cash fund. The bill expands this program to include a person who wants to start any type of business.

HB25-1002 Medical Necessity Determination Insurance Coverage.

Bill sponsors: Representatives Amabile and Pelton, Senator Brown.

Assigned to House Health & Human Services, the bill passed the House on Feb. 10 and now moves to the Senate.

The bill addressed parity by clarifying that the health benefits coverage for the prevention of, screening for, and treatment of behavioral, mental health, and substance use disorders must be no less extensive than the coverage provided for any physical illness. The bill requires that every health benefit plan must provide coverage for:

  • The placement, including admission, continued stay, transfer, and discharge of a covered person and determinations relating to mental health disorders in accordance with criteria developed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry or the American Association for Community Psychiatry; and
  • Medically necessary treatment of covered behavioral, mental health, and substance use disorder benefits, consistent with specified criteria.

The bill also specifies criteria to be used for utilization review, service intensity, the level of care for covered persons, and provider reimbursement.

HB25-1008 Complementary Behavioral Health Services in Jails.

Bill sponsors: Representatives Bradfield and English, Senators Cutter and Michaelson Jenet.

Assigned to House Judiciary Committee where it was passed unamended on January 21, 2025, and referred to House Appropriations Committee.

This is a bill that comes from the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. Under existing law, the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) in the Department of Human Services administers the Jail-Based Behavioral Health Services (JBBS) program. The bill requires the BHA, as part of the JBBS program, to provide funding to jails to administer services that complement a person’s primary course of treatment for a behavioral health disorder (complementary behavioral health services) to persons in custody in the jail. It is proposed that a jail shall use the funding to train jail staff to administer complementary behavioral health services and to provide complementary behavioral health services to persons in custody in the jail at no cost to the person. The bill requires the general assembly to annually appropriate up to $50,000 for the administration of complementary behavioral health services as part of the program.

HB25-1063 FDA-Approved Crystalline Polymorph Psilocybin Use.

Bill sponsors: Representatives Hartsook and Brown, Senator Michaelson Jenet.

Assigned to Health & Human Services Committee and passed out of that committee on Jan. 14 and passed in the House on Jan. 23. It is now assigned to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee

The bill makes a prescription medicine that contains crystalline polymorph psilocybin legal to prescribe, dispense, distribute, possess, use, and market in Colorado upon its approval by the United States food and drug administration.

Close menu