By Longinos Gonzalez, Jr. | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
Needle exchange programs and drug injection sites, described by proponents as “safe injection sites” or “overdose prevention centers,” are ideas that radicals throughout the state continue to push upon our communities, even where they are largely opposed by the public and previously rejected by local institutions.
Luckily, at least for one more year, the legislature rejected the most recent supervised drug injection site bill proposal. Unfortunately, this bill is likely to find renewed advocacy in 2025 by numerous Democrats. However, the push for needle exchanges, or syringe access programs, under the guise of “harm reduction” continues and has come to Colorado Springs without ever having completed state mandated stakeholder meetings or public input.
This lack of transparency is a slap in the face to our community, and a violation of state law. This situation goes back to 2017 when the El Paso County Board of Health rejected a needle exchange program by a 5-4 vote, and again in 2019 when the Board of Health made clear that a majority of its members were still opposed to the program.
In light of this local and vocal opposition, the state legislature passed House Bill 1065 in 2020, which removed the authority from local Boards of Health to approve or deny needle exchanges if they are run by “a nonprofit organization with experience operating a clean syringe exchange program or a health facility licensed or certified by the state to operate a clean syringe exchange program.”
The bill, however, included a provision that must be met PRIOR to any new needle exchange program beginning operations. This provision mandated stakeholder meetings be held and specifically included the district attorney, local law enforcement and others as named participants. This mandate was never complied with locally.
As I was following the situation down in Pueblo and their City Council’s efforts to ban needle exchanges earlier this year, I found online numerous links listing Colorado Springs as a location with a needle exchange program. As a county commissioner and one of the Board of Health members who has been involved in keeping these programs out of our community, I was shocked to find out that Colorado Springs has had a needle exchange operating for approximately three years, as neither I nor the general public were ever made aware of any stakeholder meetings having taken place as mandated by state law.
In fact, from my research into the local needle exchange and CORA of the city on this issue, it appears the nonprofit never held stakeholder meetings, and if they held any (they produced no evidence to the city of any public meetings) they failed to include the district attorney (a named mandated participant in these stakeholder meetings per state law) as was required before they could begin operating.
This lack of transparency is not only upsetting but indicates that this needle exchange is most likely operating illegally. I confirmed with our DA, Michael Allen, that he had never been consulted about the needle exchange and he added that neither was the previous DA. This public statement by the DA should be sufficient for the Colorado Springs mayor and his police chief to conclude that the needle exchange is operating illegally, unless the nonprofit demonstrates proof to the contrary.
As our local Board of Health no longer has any authorities regarding this issue because of House Bill 20-1065 and the needle exchange is within city limits, I made inquiries with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) as well as with Mayor Mobolade to investigate the situation. Their responses are troubling.
The response from CDPHE director, Jill Hunsaker Ryan, and her chief medical officer, Dr. Ned Calonge, were concerning as they acknowledged that “no state agency regulates needle exchange programs” once they begin operating (assuming they started operating legally, which in Colorado Springs I contend they are not). My efforts in getting answers from the city was even more frustrating, as the mayor failed to reply to my two emails to him on this, and now, nearly four months since I first asked him to investigate the issue, the city has never answered the relevant question of whether the nonprofit properly conducted the mandated stakeholder meeting(s) with the required named members (i.e. the DA and local law enforcement at a minimum).
Unfortunately, it appears that both CDPHE and our local mayor’s office are unwilling to investigate the likelihood that the Colorado Springs needle exchange is operating in violation of C.R.S. § 25-1-520. It is concerning that this public safety question and violation of state law is currently being ignored by the mayor and his staff. It is why I am compelled to write on this topic today.
I hope that in making the public aware of this lack of transparency by the nonprofit, the likely violation of state law, and the delay of the Colorado Springs mayor to fully investigate and answer my original question on the mandated stakeholder meetings that the mayor will soon investigate whether the needle exchange is operating illegally or not. And that, at the state level, voters this November will elect state senators and state representatives that will oppose any new efforts to expand needle exchange programs and oppose any bills authorizing supervised drug injection sites as have been advocated for by radicals in our Colorado Legislature.
Longinos Gonzalez, Jr., is the District 4 El Paso County Commissioner.