For the past several years, law enforcement and public health officials have warned that fentanyl — a potent, synthetic opioid powder causing a spike in overdoses on the coasts — would soon arrive in Colorado. It’s clearly here, and the statistics for 2020 reveal a drastic jump in use of the drug considered 10 times […]
Harm Reduction Action Center
How one block on Pearl Street represents Denver’s stubborn homelessness crisis
“I’m going to shoot him!” The man’s shouts echoed in the street at 2 a.m. as he rummaged through his belongings for a gun. Screams and yelling erupted in the encampment on Pearl Street, where about 25 people are living in tents, keeping warm with makeshift fire pits fueled by propane tanks inside blanket- and […]
Supervised injection site supporters aren’t ready to give up on the conversation in Colorado
The quest to include Denver among the first cities in the nation to open a supervised injection site for drug users isn’t dead, at least not along the front lines of the city’s war against heroin. Colorado was buzzing last fall — on talk radio, at City Council and among state policymakers — about a […]
Denver moves forward with plan for supervised injection site for IV-drug users
Denver City Council approved plans Monday night to open a supervised injection site where IV-drug users could inject heroin near staff standing by with the life-saving antidote to opioid overdose. The two-year pilot program is contingent on state legislation that would create criminal immunity for those using drugs at the site, a sterile clinic containing […]
Denver city councilman, state lawmaker revive plans for safe injection site, in spite of federal law
Tony Fairchild died leaning against a tree along the Cherry Creek Trail, overlooking the water as autumn leaves fell. It could have happened anywhere — a restaurant bathroom or a shadowy alley. Not long before, Tony had overdosed in the restroom of a Sonic Drive-In, and police had to break down the door to get […]