Coloradans have an attorney general who fancies himself "The People's Lawyer." That requires him to protect "the people" from deadly attacks of poison that have become the top killer of young adults in Colorado and the rest of the country.

If a virus killed each day at the rate of fentanyl, society would take extraordinary measures to lower the death rate. In this case, the virus is a deadly pill easily mistaken as candy or a pharmaceutical. Much like a virus, fentanyl travels from one person to another — often without the recipient's knowledge.

While a virus can sneak into the nose or mouth, the pill achieves entry with deception, peer pressure, promises of mental and physical pain relief or sheer ignorance of its deadly potential. Other times, it merely shows up as candy attractive to a toddler.

"For Americans age 18-45, the leading cause of death is fentanyl overdose," says the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. "The addictive drug is responsible for nearly 70% of the United States' 107,000+ drug overdose deaths in the past year and is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine."

Stopping the new top killer of people in their primes should be the highest priority of state and federal leaders. Every fentanyl victim leaves grieving loved ones who will never be the same. Every victim is someone who won't benefit society with work, innovation, creativity, play, love and trade. Humans are the only source of advancement.

A recent study by the Kaiser Foundation found 1 in 10 American adults has lost a family member to a drug overdose — mostly from fentanyl. At this rate, the majority of Americans will have a direct, painful connection with a fentanyl death in just a few years.

Given the cost and magnitude of this crisis, it should be a media obsession and a centerpiece in the 2024 presidential election.

Osama bin Laden only dreamed of fentanyl's death count. The worst climate-change related death predictions are minor compared with the fentanyl count — as in, not even close. All nuclear energy has an estimated kill rate of one person each 25-30 years — versus fentanyl's 100,000-plus in a single year in the U.S.

Sadly for the country, President Joe Biden has failed and is not up to this challenge. We need The People's Lawyer — Colorado Attorney Gen. Phil Weiser — to make this his professional fixation.

We have asked Weiser on multiple occasions what he can do to curtail Chinese fentanyl from crossing our southern border. As a state official, he can't do much.

What Weiser can do is protect "the people" by educating them at school and other places where the viruslike pill finds prey.

At the end of last week, Weiser announced his new statewide educational campaign designed for Colorado youths. The program warns teens against taking illicit drugs or prescription pills that are not prescribed to them and could contain fentanyl.

The two-year campaign will focus on 11- to 18-year-olds, their parents/guardians, and other trusted adults like teachers and coaches. It will tell them the tiniest amount of fentanyl — an amount barely visible to the naked eye — can kill. The program also instructs in administering naloxone, which can revere an early stage in-progress overdose.

Weiser hopes to reinforce positive social norms, showing children that most teens make healthy choices. This should give them confidence "they are in good company when they don't take pills that are not prescribed to them."

Weiser is doing his part to represent 5.8 million clients without federal obstruction. He will pay for most of the program with more than $700 million in settlements the attorney general has obtained from pharmaceuticals he sued for causing the opioid epidemic. Weiser does this after successfully suing predatory Juul for settlement proceeds that combat childhood vaping.

The People's Lawyer, as a top Democratic official, takes heat for what he does and doesn't do. It goes with the job. When it comes to protecting post-birth children, Weiser deserves high grades and all the support Colorado can give. Our children's lives depend on it.

The Gazette Editorial Board

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

Photo credit: Myriam Zilles at Unsplash