Colorado Drug Policy Coalition

Thank you to @ccjrc1 & Right Response Coalition including @FreedomFundCO, @HRAC_Denver , @COCoalition, the Colorado Providers Association, & so many others for fighting against harsh sentencing for people who use drugs. We need public health solutions, not more people in cages.

Our Deputy Director Kyle Giddings, in recovery for 11 years, knows firsthand that incarceration doesn’t heal addiction—it makes it worse. Colorado must reject the failed policies of the past. Vote NO on SB-44. #NoOnSB44

We're at the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for SB25-044 which would make possession, sharing, etc of any amount of synthetic opioids like fentanyl a felony. codpc.org/stop-sb25-044 Listen: leg.colorado.gov/committee/audi…

According to the letter, Ombudsman clients claim that Division of Youth Services staff have introduced drugs into the facilities and provided drugs directly to youth. The letter alleges that nearly 30 youths ingested these drugs, several have overdosed, and one died as a result.

The Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado, in a Nov. 15 letter to @CO_CDHS, said it had “serious safety concerns” regarding two facilities: Spring Creek and the Platte Valley Youth Services Center in Greeley.

At least 7 young people in Colorado detention facilities have been hospitalized this year after overdose-related calls. @CO_CDHS declined to provide data on overdoses in youth detention facilities, saying they don’t track the numbers. (!!!) denverpost.com/2024/11/27/col…

"One of the fears is that, as overdoses decline, there will be complacency," said Dr. Brian Hurley, head of @ASAMorg. "One of our messages is making sure there's a sustained focus." npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-…

"It could also be the adverse selection of people who were at the highest risk of experiencing a fatal overdose have already died,” said Dr. Tyler Coyle, former president of the Colorado Society of Addiction Medicine.

Fatal drug overdoses in Denver and across Colorado have declined through the first half of 2024 (by 11% and 8%, respectively), a ray of sunshine after years of skyrocketing death tolls. Experts and health officials cautioned the data is preliminary. denverpost.com/2024/11/24/col…

J Healthcare Initiative's "Substance Use is a Spectrum" campaign is the best thing since Naloxone. It is time to unlearn, outdated WOD campaign messaging and learn about the many faces of PWUD. #endthestigma instagram.com/p/DCNlhgCy3b_/…

It's innaccurate to say that SSPs would be allowed closer to schools than they are now. ALL of the SSPs in Denver operate under a waiver, because there are schools/daycares that have moved in closer to them! This ordinance would simply remove the waiver requirement.

Back in 1997 the City of Denver capped the number of syringe access programs to 3 total. They had no way to know then how the population would grow, nor could they predict the devastating overdose crisis we're in right now. It's time for an update. denverite.com/2024/10/29/den…

✅Voluntary ✅Effective ✅Affordable ✅Accessible ✅Appealing Conditions not met by coerced/forced treatment, or treatment in jails or prisons. The carceral system is not where we should be primarily investing treatment funds!

NEXT WEEK: Oct 10th 4:30-6pm EST Join us for a book talk with @Liz_Chiarello about her latest, "Policing Patients: Treatment and surveillance on the frontlines of the opioid crisis." Bring your questions! Register: bit.ly/Oct2024BookTalk

Colorado has a 60% treatment gap, meaning treatment is not available for 6 out of every 10 people who seek it. How are stiffer criminal legal penalties the answer? How is forced treatment the answer? How is denying evidenced-based interventions like OPCs the answer?

🧵Harm reductionists took measures into their own hands to save lives & show what #overdoseprevention centers (OPCs) can offer to communities-lives saved, & health care needs addressed. The demonstration, on International #OverdoseAwarenessDay, included... bit.ly/IOADDemonstrat…

Over 1,400 people responded to fictional overdose obituaries. Key details were varied to discover which traits made participants more likely to assign blame to the victim. Study author @sydneyasauer describes her findings, and the stigma they illustrate: filtermag.org/overdose-stigm…

At least 27 states explicitly require hospitals to alert child welfare agencies after a mother tests positive for drugs before giving birth.. But not a single state requires hospitals to confirm test results before reporting themarshallproject.org/2024/09/09/dru…