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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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Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Report Ties Colorado’s Fentanyl Death Surge To Weaker Drug Laws

By Jacob Mauk | Colorado Politics Overdose deaths from opioids rose in Colorado, diverging from the national trend, which has been decreasing, according to a new study from a think tank. In its new report, the Common Sense Institute said synthetic opioid overdose deaths in Colorado have grown by 17% since November 2024, the third-fastest growth rate in the country. The only states with higher spike rates are Arizona and New Mexico, according to the report. If Colorado had followed the national trend, some 1,600 lives could have been saved, the study said, adding the opioid deaths represented a cost of roughly $18.3 billion. “While this number does not encompass the entire value of human life, it does indicate that lives lost due to fentanyl and other opioids red...
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