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Nearly 10 pounds of fentanyl powder seized in drug trafficking operation on Colorado’s Western Slope
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local, Western Slope

Nearly 10 pounds of fentanyl powder seized in drug trafficking operation on Colorado’s Western Slope

By Jennifer McRae | CBS Colorado Seven people have been arrested, accused in a drug trafficking operation in Garfield County on Colorado's Western Slope. According to investigators, approximately four pounds of methamphetamine, three ounces of cocaine, nine-and-a-half pounds of fentanyl powder, and approximately 220 fentanyl pills, along with a firearm, were seized. The Garfield County Sheriff's Office said that suspects Sindy Vazquez Martinez and Osbaldo Ramirez-Andrade operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and additional illegal drugs from Frisco to Rifle. Investigators said that they used their residence in Glenwood Springs, located 185 yards from the front door of the Glenwood Springs Middle School and 60 yards from school property, as a base t...
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Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill
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Approved, KUNC, State

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill

By Bente Birkeland | CPR News On November 8, 2020, Chelsea Congdon’s life changed forever.  She and her husband had invited friends over for a backyard party at their home in Old Snowmass. They were building a bonfire when a car from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department pulled up.  “The policeman came and found us there and let us know that our son Miles had died in Boulder and his body had been discovered that morning,” she recently recalled to CPR News. “It felt very unreal. And it feels as if your entire life just shatters on the floor and for some reason, you’re still standing. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s impossible to put together losing a kid.” Her son, Miles Brundige, was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Colorado. He’d grown up big ...
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Colorado’s fentanyl crisis exposes a deadly failure of leadership
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s fentanyl crisis exposes a deadly failure of leadership

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A newly released report from Advance Colorado lays bare the devastating human cost of Colorado’s fentanyl crisis—and the state policies that helped fuel it. Titled “Communities in Ruin: The Human Cost of Fentanyl in Colorado,” the report delivers a searing indictment of legislative decisions made over the past six years—starting with a 2019 law that downgraded possession of deadly narcotics like fentanyl to a misdemeanor.  That’s when possession of up to four grams—enough to kill 1,500 people—started being treated like a minor infraction. Four years later, the state’s fentanyl-related overdose deaths have exploded by 440%, jumping from 222 deaths in 2019 to over 1,200 in 2023​. “Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 t...
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Pueblo sees uptick in fentanyl use
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Approved, CBS 11 KKTV, Local

Pueblo sees uptick in fentanyl use

By Michelle Wells | KKTV PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) - The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE) monitors the use of drugs, like fentanyl, by testing wastewater. According to their wastewater dashboard, last month fentanyl use in Pueblo increased for the first time this year. In a statement from PDPHE they say, “In March, wastewater data showed 10.82mg per 1,000 people, per day. Comparatively, that number was around 5mg per 1,000 people, per day in January and February. Overall, this number is much lower compared to March 2024, when wastewater data showed 20.95mg per 1,000 people, per day.” This means fentanyl use last month was about half of what it was in March 2024. PDPHE also says, “Higher levels of fentanyl are cause for concern because the amount of fen...
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“One pill away from death”: inside Colorado Springs’ undercover fentanyl crackdown
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Fox21, Local

“One pill away from death”: inside Colorado Springs’ undercover fentanyl crackdown

By Austin Sack | Fox27 News (COLORADO SPRINGS) — A record number of fentanyl pills are being seized across Colorado, with local law enforcement agencies like the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) crediting the success partly to their department’s ability to deploy officers undercover. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division announced it seized nearly 2.7 million fentanyl pills – or “fake” pills – in Colorado in 2024. This breaks the previous record set in 2023 with 2.61 million pills seized in the state. “It is an unfortunate record to set,” said DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. “We continue to work day in, day out fighting the cartels putting this poison on Colorado streets. While we have seen seizure numbers trendin...
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Colorado legislature to discuss bill that could remove social media users acting illegally
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Approved, DENVER7, State

Colorado legislature to discuss bill that could remove social media users acting illegally

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 DENVER — A mother who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose wants stronger protections for people acting illegally on social media, and a bill scheduled for discussion on Monday could do just that. Among many things, SB25-086 would require social media companies to enact public policies for their platform and remove a user who violates them within 72 hours. "Users who are posting the sale or availability of fentanyl or other illicit drugs or illegal guns or opportunities for young people to engage in sex would be, should be removed from the platform," Chelsea Congdon said. Congdon lost her son Miles Brundige, 19, on Nov. 8, 2020. He was a sophomore at University of Colorado Boulder, suffering from a dislocated shoulder. READ FULL ARTI...
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Colorado drug bust includes elephant sedative
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado drug bust includes elephant sedative

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Three people recently arrested for carrying drugs in western Colorado had among their stash an opioid said to be 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.  A Delta County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled over a vehicle on March 3 that was swerving over the lane stripes on Highway 50 west of Delta.  Another Delta deputy invited his K9 "Teg" to sniff the vehicle. The dog alerted to the presence of narcotics.  The deputies removed the three people from the car and searched it, finding approximately 1500 fentanyl pills, 50 grams of fentanyl powder, 12 grams of ecstacy pills, 454 grams of methamphetamine, and 21 grams of Carfentanil.  READ FULL ARTICLE ON CBS COLORADO
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Border patrol has seized more eggs than Fentanyl so far this year
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Approved, National, Newsweek

Border patrol has seized more eggs than Fentanyl so far this year

By Newsweek U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized more egg products from United States borders this year than it has seized pounds of fentanyl. Statistics from the CBP website show that so far in 2025, the agency has seized 5,938 egg products and 1,631 pounds of fentanyl coming into the US. Newsweek could not make an exact one-to-one comparison as CBP measures eggs by number of products and fentanyl by weight. READ THE FULL STORY AT NEWSWEEK
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Fentanyl’s role in Trump’s trade war with Canada explained
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Approved, National, Washington Examiner

Fentanyl’s role in Trump’s trade war with Canada explained

By Anna Giaritelli | Washington Examiner President Donald Trump‘s executive crusade to punish three countries he deems responsible for the deadly fentanyl epidemic has raised questions on whether tariffs, especially on Canada, will solve the U.S. drug problem. In the Feb. 1 executive order, Trump identified Canada, China, and Mexico as playing significant roles in the U.S. fentanyl epidemic that has killed a record-high number of people annually. In turn, Trump imposed double-digit tariffs against each nation until the amount of fentanyl being seized at the nation’s border drops to next to nothing. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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The fight over fentanyl is back on tap in Colorado’s General Assembly
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

The fight over fentanyl is back on tap in Colorado’s General Assembly

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The fentanyl epidemic, which produced intense fights two years ago over how to confront the soaring deaths from the synthetic opioid, has returned to the Colorado state Capitol this year. In the past several weeks, lawmakers have already turned down one bill that would make possession of small amounts of fentanyl a felony. And efforts are afoot to put the subject on the ballot. Used legitimately as a medical anesthetic, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has become a dominant player in the illicit market and is increasingly being mixed into other substances. It's cheaper and produces a more potent, more fleeting "high," according to experts. But its potency in small quantities makes it unlike any other substance that preceded it. READ T...
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