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Tag: Opioid Epidemic

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While much of the country is finally beginning to turn the corner on fentanyl, Colorado is heading in the opposite direction. And the human cost is staggering. Colorado’s numbers are still moving up—synthetic opioid deaths have climbed 17 percent since December 2024. Elsewhere, the trend has started to turn. Across the country, overdose deaths have dropped 26.9 percent, according to the CDC, the steepest one-year decline of the crisis and the lowest levels since 2019. Colorado isn’t just behind. It stands apart. A March 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute puts that gap into focus: 1,620 excess deaths. In other words, that’s how many more Coloradans died from synthetic opioid overdoses between ...
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100x stronger than fentanyl: Elephant tranquilizer carfentanil behind 11 Colorado deaths
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DENVER7, Approved, State

100x stronger than fentanyl: Elephant tranquilizer carfentanil behind 11 Colorado deaths

By Shannon Ogden | Denver7 Denver7 did some digging about the powerful drug in Colorado and found that the state has recorded 11 drug overdose deaths involving carfentanil, including 5 so far this year DENVER — An alarming warning went out this week about a powerful synthetic opioid detected in Colorado. The El Paso County Coroner's office said it came across the first known instance of carfentanil used as a standalone drug in an individual who died of a drug overdose in Colorado Springs in August. That person was found to have carfentanil and acetaminophen in a blood test. A spokesperson for the office said this is the first time carfentanil has been detected without fentanyl. Carfentanil is 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine, acco...
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Saving lives in schools: Naloxone access expands across Colorado
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Pew Charitable Trusts, Approved, State

Saving lives in schools: Naloxone access expands across Colorado

By Alexandra Duncan | Pew Charitable Trusts State Senator Cleave Simpson explains why making an opioid overdose reversal drug more available matters Despite declining drug overdose deaths in the U.S., opioids such as fentanyl are still driving most of these fatalities across the country. But naloxone is a lifesaving medication that can help. Any person, even those without medical training, can administer naloxone to someone in need and reverse an opioid overdose. As a farmer and rancher in rural Colorado, State Senator and Minority Leader Cleave Simpson—a Republican representing District 6, the southwest region covering Alamosa, Durango, Telluride, and other cities—knew the overdose crisis was taking a toll on his community. But when he joined the Colorado...
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Trump Signs Bill Cracking Down on Fentanyl Traffickers
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National, Approved, The Epoch Times

Trump Signs Bill Cracking Down on Fentanyl Traffickers

By Travis Gillmore | The Epoch Times The new law mandates 10-year minimum prison sentences for those convicted of trafficking at least 100 grams of deadly opioid-related substances. WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act on Wednesday during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  Also known as the HALT Fentanyl Act, the bill, which passed with bipartisan support, reclassifies substances related to the deadly opioid as Schedule 1 narcotics, the strictest designation established by the Controlled Substances Act.  Such drugs are deemed to have no acceptable medical value and are subject to the nation’s most punitive criminal penalties.  The bill also mandates 10-year minimum prison sentences for those con...
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