Drug offenders could spend less time in jail and more time in rehabilitation programs under a sentencing-reform proposal that debuted at the state Capitol on Tuesday with widespread support and the goal of curbing repeat offenses.

The plan would lower the penalties for people found in possession of up to 4 grams of most drugs, shaving years off sentences and saving the state money by vacating prison beds, advocates said. The savings — which doubters argue may never materialize — could provide the first large and reliable funding stream to treat drug offenders’ addictions.

The legislation also marks the first time lawmakers stand a chance at large-scale drug-sentencing reform, said a variety of backers who include prosecutors, public defenders, law enforcement, community advocates and the governor.

State Public Defender Doug Wilson said the bill “had a 100 percent chance of passing” and that its chief accomplishment would be drawing a more clear distinction between drug users and drug dealers.

“Colorado is starting to recognize that locking people up in prison for what is essentially a disease is not a way to cut recidivism,” Wilson said.

House Bill 1352 would lower sentences for criminals facing charges for using and possessing drugs, but stiffen penalties for those who deal drugs to children.

One in five of Colorado’s 22,600 inmates landed in prison for primary drug offenses, though not all would qualify for lighter sentences, according to Attorney General John Suthers, who backs the bill.

Anti-drug groups including the Cañon City-based Christian Drug Education Center worry about the message that lowered penalties for drugs such as marijuana would send to kids already seeing a boom in medical-marijuana use, founder Beverly Kinard said.

Illegal pot users would be able to carry up to 12 ounces before facing felony charges under the bill. The current cap is 8 ounces.

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey can’t see how the lesser sentences — the difference between up to six years and up to 18 months in most cases — would save the system money and argued allowing users to carry up to 4 grams would worsen already difficult problems of dealing in urban areas.

Fragmented streams of federal and state money for community rehabilitation programs have left a hodgepodge of facilities statewide that the justice community is uncertain can handle an influx of offenders.

Backers hope that savings states like Washington and Kansas have seen following their own reforms will bolster those programs in Colorado, said bill sponsor Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs.

The legislation doesn’t go as far as some would like.

Co-sponsor Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, sees HB 1352 as a move closer to diverting a broader range of offenders to rehabilitation programs instead of jail.

Next up? Low-level drug dealers who sell to feed their addictions, he said.

“This is the first step in reforming our drug-sentencing laws,” he said.

Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com