Gaines: Is CDPHE’s harm reduction program normalizing meth and crack on the taxpayer’s dime?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

CDPHE’s harm reduction via Colorado Health Network, Inc.

The Colorado Politics article linked first below is about a meth flyer that was circulating in Denver and causing some heartburn. It’s a flyer which offers tips on how to smoke not only meth but also crack cocaine. The flyer was produced and distributed by Access Point Denver.

Quoting the article:

“Operated by Colorado Health Network, Access Point Denver is a harm reduction program offering services such as drug checking, overdose prevention and sterile needle exchanges to reduce the transmission of diseases among drug users. In June, the Denver City Council unanimously approved a 24-month contract extension worth more than $3 million that funds Access Point Denver’s efforts to meet ‘the increased demand for services.’

In response to critics, Access Point Denver had the following to say (again, quoting):

“A spokesperson for Access Point Denver told The Denver Gazette that the slip of paper is part of an HIV and Hepatitis C prevention program kit and that “understanding the intended audience” for the paper insert is critical. ‘It’s written to resonate with people who use drugs,’ Access Point Denver Prevention Services Manager Kristin Doneski said. ‘While the language may be alarming to others in our community, it’s directed at folks who are opting for a less harmful mode of drug use – smoking versus injecting.’ The kits, which include sterile supplies, are distributed by trained Access Point Denver employees from both its 936 E. 18th Ave. brick-and-mortar location as well as a mobile outreach unit, ‘along with conversations and resources, including options for care and treatment.'”

I’ll leave it to you to continue on with the story. I will depart here to share with you a wider view.

When I look at the parent company of Access Point Denver, Colorado Health Network, Inc. (CHN), I found that this company seems to be one of the go-to contractors for CDPHE.

A TOPS expense report for them is linked second below.

Our state has paid CHN about $177 million since 2015, with $28 million of that total coming in fiscal year 2025 alone. Looking through the short explanations for the charges you will note that CHN gets money for everything from HIV/AIDS work, to viral Hep/STI work, to mental health work, to line items labeled as “harm reduction”.

As a quick aside, you’ll also note CHN gets money from other agencies too. They get money from Department of Local Affairs from affordable housing funds. By and large it’s CDPHE, but there are others.

It was that last one–the “harm reduction”–that caught my eye, especially given what I read about their offshoot Access Point Denver. I didn’t do a full on CORA request for any particular contract, but I did reach out to CDPHE to see what kinds of things, in general, we are paying CHN for.

The spokesperson’s reply is quoted in full from my email below.

“Per state statute (C.R.S. 25-20.5-1101.4), permissible uses of funding through the Harm Reduction Grant Program include, but are not limited to:

• Trainings relevant to the field of harm reduction that may include overdose prevention, safer substance use practices, safe disposal, and access to and administration of opiate antagonists and non-laboratory synthetic opiate detection tests;
• Purchasing and providing sterile equipment, non-laboratory synthetic opiate detection tests, and syringe disposal equipment;
• Providing direct services to persons who have come into contact with or who are at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system, which may include accessing treatment and health-care services, overdose prevention activities, and recovery support services;
• Outreach and engagement to people who come into contact with or who are at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system and who are in need of mental health or substance use disorder treatment, overdose prevention, harm reduction, or recovery support services;
• Facilitating communication, training, and technical assistance among law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, and community-based harm reduction agencies in order to divert people from the criminal justice system;
• Auricular acudetox training and services;
• Public education and outreach about synthetic opiates, overdose risks, and recognizing an overdose event; resources for addiction treatment and services; access to and administration of opiate antagonists and non-laboratory synthetic opiate detection tests; and laws regarding synthetic opiates, including criminal penalties and immunity for reporting an overdose event pursuant to section 18-1-711;
• Local conventions for the purpose of developing community-based approaches for overdose prevention, early intervention, and harm reduction services;
• Developing, or expanding existing, community-based organizations that provide overdose prevention, early intervention, and harm reduction services;
• Evidence-based research concerning best or promising practices in overdose prevention, early intervention, harm reduction, and medication-assisted treatment protocols;
• Developing strategies for serving populations who are at a higher risk of overdose and live in underserved areas; and
• Support for a liaison with experience collaborating with community-based organizations and local public health agencies.”

You might comb that list and not see “flyers on how to smoke, as opposed to inject, hard drugs”, but if you read it closely you can see some things in there that probably aren’t too far off. For example, from the first bullet point “…safer substance use practices”.

I struggle with harm reduction as a concept when you apply it to things like drug use. I’m not so dumb as to believe that people will stop using drugs (ever) and thus perhaps we ought to look at ways to mitigate the harm they do to themselves and/or others. I also do not like the idea that I’m paying tax money to grease the skids for someone else’s poor choices; if we make something easier to do will we not get more of it?

I would, as opposed to flyers that instruct how to safely USE drugs, much rather have our tax dollars go to things that teach people how to get off drugs, to overdose preventions such as Narcan, and perhaps as far even as safe ways to dispose of things like needles.

I get the distinct feeling (because it’s a perennial effort by the uber-progressives in the legislature) that we’ll see more efforts to do the former type of harm reduction this coming legislative session.

I’ll update as I hear more.

https://www.coloradopolitics.com/local-government/meth-flyer-reignites-harm-reduction-debate/article_6e7cd967-42bd-5c2e-8245-924443f86dea.html

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pr2k-3U0KnjkFxL7n205w0EcaWw3ubu_/edit?gid=367163527#gid=367163527

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