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In 2021, at least 1,881 Coloradans died of a drug overdose and roughly half of those people died of fentanyl, according to state data. Many of those people are taking fentanyl without realizing it, as the cheap synthetic opioid is cut into other drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

As many as six in 10 counterfeit prescription pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, the report said.

It didn’t quantify exactly how large the online illicit drug market has become, citing limited access to the social media platforms’ data. But research suggests that drug dealers and buyers turn to the internet and social media platforms “as a primary vehicle for drug transactions.”

A search for “Denver” and “Boulder” on the Kik messaging app returned dozens of results for groups dedicated to selling and buying drugs that were open to the public, the report showed.

“Connecting with a local dealer took mere minutes,” the report said.

Dealers advertise drugs using slang, emojis, QR codes and disappearing messages that help reach customers while evading content moderation tools on the social media platforms, the report said. Often drug sellers are active on multiple social media platforms — advertising their products on Instagram, but listing their WhatApps or Snapchat handles for inquiries — which makes it harder for law enforcement to crack down on the sales.

Sellers can create new pro les as soon as one is suspended or removed, creating a frustrating “whack-a-mole” e ect for local law enforcement, the report said.

A lot of social media companies, including Meta, TikTok and Snapchat, have policies that ban advertising, buying or selling drugs and some have made e orts to work with law enforcement to address the issue.

But the report said the companies’ and Senate and needs approval from Gov. Jared Polis. It is sponsored by state Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Democrat from Avon, Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, and state Reps. Judy Amabile, a Boulder

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Composers responses to drug activity on their platforms have been “uneven in their application and limited in e ectiveness.”

Weiser urged social media companies to adopt strong, uniform practices to prevent and respond to illegal drug sales. He also called for a federal agency to oversee social media platforms and legislation that would give the federal government more access to their data.

Hank Dempsey, the head of state public policy for Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., called Weiser’s report a “must-read report” for anyone working to combat the fentanyl crisis. He said he appreciated working with the attorney general’s o ce “to contribute by sharing our insights and e orts to aggressively combat drug activity on our platform, including our policies that take a zero tolerance approach to this abuse.”

In an email, Meta spokeswoman Jeanne Moran said “content that attempts to buy, sell or trade drugs is not allowed on Facebook or Instagram, regardless of state or country law.” e company is “working hard” to keep drug sales o the platforms and users that post content that violates its policies could have their account removed.

Kayla Whaling, spokeswoman for the Tinder and Hinge parent company Match Group, said the report focused on a critical issue and that the company is “supportive of any conversation that aims to help make internet platforms safer.” e report made several recom-

“However, we strongly disagree with how our brand is categorized here and we have been in contact with Attorney General Weiser’s o ce to refute the inaccurate claims in this report,” Whaling said. She said their platforms are “very ine cient” for drug sales since they are designed for one-on-one interactions and that the company has made proactive e orts to ban accounts that mention drugs.

TikTok did not return requests for comment.

Democrat, and Matt Soper, a Delta Republican.

The bill initially raised eyebrows among some state leaders.

Colorado Department of Higher Education Executive Director Angie Paccione said in February that she didn’t want to see schools become predominantly out-of-state student serving.

But a department spokeswoman said Paccione now believes CU Boulder has demonstrated that all eligible in-state students are accepted at the school — and that accepting eligible resident students is a priority. Paccione no longer has concerns about the legislation.

The bill will also require schools to report how many out-of-state and in-state students schools enroll before the double count occurs, how schools use revenue for the purpose of aid, and where students that qualify for aid come from in the state.

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Colorado needs more homegrown talent from its universities, especially because that state has mendations for Colorado lawmakers to pass new protections to help prevent such sales, including:

• Requiring platforms to create and publicly post their policy on illegal drug sales and how law enforcement can request account records; e Department of Law worked with representatives from Meta, Snapchat and TikTok to compile the report, as well as law enforcement, public health experts and harm reduction advocates. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media. large gaps when it comes to who gets a degree, said Katie Zaback of Colorado Succeeds, which brings together business leaders to advocate for education.

• Enforcing platforms to submit annual reports to the Department of Law showing the amount of content on the apps that promoted the purchase or sale of illegal drugs and how many times the posts were shared and viewed. It also suggests listing the number of times the platform proactively provided law enforcement with information about posts selling or advertising illegal drugs; Provide more resources to support local law enforcement e orts to investigate online narcotics cases.

Zaback, the organization’s vice president of policy, said a priority for Colorado Succeeds is to examine what solutions there are to get more Colorado students access to a high-quality education, such as at CU Boulder.

CU Boulder enrolls a group of students that aren’t representative of the state’s high school graduates, she said. And she worries the bill, if it’s enacted, would send a message that Colorado’s best and brightest can only be educated if the state recruits more out-of-state students.

“I wonder if that’s true,” Zaback said. “I wonder what the overall equity implications are.”

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters