The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has sued the board that regulates Colorado’s pharmacies, demanding it share information from a database that tracks opioid prescriptions and setting up a clash over patient privacy amid the nation’s overdose epidemic. The requested information is part of an investigation into whether two unnamed pharmacies broke the law in dispensing […]
opioid crisis
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Why military veterans should have expanded access to medical cannabis
I am a military veteran, and cannabis saved my life. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2008 to 2015 before being honorably discharged. During my time in service I suffered multiple injuries ranging from overuse injuries to my knees, hips, back and blast […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health, News
For months Colorado has quietly been in talks for another multibillion-dollar opioid settlement
For more than a year, Colorado has been locked in a high-profile legal battle with Purdue Pharma that has been recently bogged down amid a bankruptcy filing and disagreements over the size of a settlement. In a separate case, however, the state could soon secure millions of dollars to fight the opioid crisis from five […]
Posted inHealth, Opinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Some sun in the dark clouds of the opioid epidemic
Colorado lost 578 people to opioid overdoses in 2017 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Five hundred and seventy-eight friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers. And that is just the surface of the opioid epidemic we hear about so often but have so much difficulty combating. The Colorado Sun has an entire tag […]
Posted inEducation, Politics and Government
The Democratic agenda came with a big price tag. Now Colorado budget writers worry about paying the bill.
To pass their expansive legislative agenda, the new Democratic majority at the Colorado Capitol spent big this year. Real big. And now even Democratic budget writers are worried about how to make ends meet. “There were a lot of bills passed last (session) that have continued spending … and some of those were very large,” […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health, News, Politics and Government
Why it might not matter if Colorado’s attorney general doesn’t think the national opioid settlement is sufficient
Colorado may have a settlement with OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma “crammed” upon it, even if the state doesn’t think a national agreement between local governments and the pharmaceutical giant goes far enough to address the opioid crisis. That’s because if enough of the government entities suing Purdue agree to the terms of the settlement, said […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado emergency rooms are trying something new to stem the opioid crisis: addiction treatment
Years ago, when someone struggling with opioid dependency would show up in a Colorado emergency room after an overdose or as they were suffering through withdrawal, doctors and nurses would patch them up and send them on their way. “They came in and we made them feel a little bit better,” said Dr. Jason Hoppe, […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, Health, News, Politics and Government
Purdue Pharma, facing opioid lawsuit from Colorado, is in settlement talks with attorneys general across the U.S.
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio — State attorneys general and lawyers representing local governments said Tuesday they are in active settlement talks with Purdue Pharma, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin that is facing billions of dollars in potential liability for its role in the nation’s opioid crisis. Purdue has been […]