Colorado § 18-18-401 Legislative declaration

Colorado Statutes

§ 18-18-401 — Legislative declaration

Colorado § 18-18-401

Title 18Criminal

Art.Uniform Controlled Substances

This text of Colorado § 18-18-401 (Legislative declaration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-401 (2026).

Text

(1)The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that:

(a)The regulation of controlled substances in this state is important and necessary for the preservation of public safety and public health;

(b)Meeting the public safety and public health needs of our communities demands a collaborative effort involving primary health-care, behavioral health, criminal justice, and social service systems;

(c)Successful, community-based substance abuse treatment and education programs and substance use disorder treatment programs, in conjunction with treatment for behavioral or mental health disorders as necessary, provide effective tools in the effort to reduce drug usage and enhance public safety by reducing the likelihood that drug users will have further contact with the crimina

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(1) The general assembly finds,
determines, and declares that:

(a) The regulation of controlled substances in this state is important and
necessary for the preservation of public safety and public health;

(b) Meeting the public safety and public health needs of our communities
demands a collaborative effort involving primary health-care, behavioral health,
criminal justice, and social service systems;

(c) Successful, community-based substance abuse treatment and education
programs and substance use disorder treatment programs, in conjunction with
treatment for behavioral or mental health disorders as necessary, provide effective
tools in the effort to reduce drug usage and enhance public safety by reducing the
likelihood that drug users will have further contact with the criminal justice system.
Therapeutic intervention and ongoing individualized treatment plans prepared
through the use of meaningful and proven assessment tools and evaluations offer
an effective alternative to incarceration in appropriate circumstances and should be
utilized accordingly.

(d) Savings recognized from reductions in incarceration rates should be
dedicated toward funding community-based treatment options and other
mechanisms that are accessible to all of the state's counties for the
implementation and continuation of such programs;

(e) The Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice submitted a
report to the general assembly on December 15, 2012, after significant study of
effective approaches to reduced drug abuse and use of criminal justice sanctions
that recommends multiple changes to the criminal law relating to controlled
substances.

Legislative History

Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 354, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2010: Entire section amended, (HB 10-1352), ch. 259, p. 1162, � 1, effective August 11. L. 2013: (1) amended, (SB 13-250), ch. 333, p. 1908, � 7, effective October 1. L. 2017: IP(1) and (1)(c) amended, (SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1308, � 144, effective May 25. L. 2024: (1)(e) amended, (HB 24-1450), ch. 490, p. 3409, � 24, effective August 7.