A project to get hospital emergency departments to dispense naloxone was so successful that organizers are now focused on labor and delivery units
opioids
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: In the battle against opioid addiction, prevention is a necessary weapon alongside treatment
The goal is to prevent opioid disorders before they happen. Colorado should devote a share of its lawsuit settlements on data-supported prevention methods.
Posted inHealth, News
This Littleton detox center feels like a relaxing hotel. Is this the way out of the fentanyl crisis?
LITTLETON — Each private room has a queen bed covered in a plush, gray comforter, plus a flat-screen TV and a remote control to browse Netflix and Hulu. For lunch and dinner, restaurant menus circulate and meals arrive via Uber Eats. Guests can log into their jobs from their rooms, or read a book beside a […]
Posted inNews
Knowingly having more than 1 gram of fentanyl would be felony under change to Colorado bill
Knowingly possessing more than 1 gram of fentanyl or a fentanyl compound for personal use would be a felony in Colorado under an amendment passed Wednesday afternoon by the House Judiciary Committee to a bill seeking to stem rising overdose deaths linked to the powerful synthetic opioid. The committee’s 7-4 vote to adopt the amendment […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Adams County couple charged in fentanyl death of their 1-year-old
BRIGHTON — A Colorado couple faces felony charges in connection with the fentanyl death of their 1-year-old child, whom prosecutors say died after ingesting enough of the extremely lethal drug to kill an adult. Thirty-one-year-old Alonzo Montoya and 30-year-old Nicole Casias of the Denver suburb of Brighton were charged with child abuse resulting in death […]
Posted inNews
New bill would stiffen Colorado’s penalties for fentanyl dealers, but leave misdemeanor possession law in place
Possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute the powerful opioid would become a more serious felony crime in Colorado under a bill set to be introduced by Democrats and Republicans in the legislature this week. But having less than 4 grams of the drug for personal use would remain a low-level, misdemeanor offense. The measure, […]
Posted inHealth, News
Calls in Denver, across U.S. to overhaul methadone distribution intensify, but clinics resist
By Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News Days typically start early for patients undergoing opioid addiction treatment at Denver Recovery Group’s six methadone clinics in Colorado. They rise before dawn. Some take three buses to get to a clinic by 5 a.m. for a 15-minute conversation with a counselor and their daily dose of methadone, all […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado will get $385 million after Johnson & Johnson, distributors finalize landmark $26 billion opioid settlement
By Geoff Mulvhill, The Associated Press CAMDEN, N.J. — Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors finalized nationwide settlements over their role in the opioid addiction crisis Friday, an announcement that clears the way for $26 billion to flow to nearly every state and local government in the U.S. Taken together, the settlements are […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers are rethinking a 2019 law that made possessing thousands of lethal fentanyl doses a misdemeanor
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and state lawmakers are rethinking a 2019 law that made possession of thousands of lethal doses of fentanyl a misdemeanor as overdoses from the potent opioid continue to rise. The law is getting even more attention after five adults died from a suspected fentanyl overdose Sunday in Commerce City. Last year, […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado will be first in the U.S. to require comprehensive health coverage for gender-affirming services
Colorado will become the first state in the country to require certain health care plans to cover comprehensive health services for transgender people, the state and federal governments announced Tuesday. The state will also add two more required benefits for those plans: an annual mental health wellness exam and prescription coverage for treatments that are […]