The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in December that fentanyl overdoses had become the leading cause of death for 18- to 45-year-olds nationally – since 2020, killing more than COVID-19, car crashes, suicides, cancer and gunshots combined.

In response to this raging epidemic, The Gazette in Colorado Springs and KKTV are hosting a Colorado Conversation on April 20 at 5 p.m. at Centennial Hall, 200 S. Cascade Ave. Eight experts will answer your questions about the crisis in Colorado, and what politicians and police are doing to stop the scourge.

The forum is sponsored by Diversus Health, and you can register at gazette.com/conversation.

Fentanyl is so strong that 2 milligrams are potentially lethal, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. To put that amount in perspective, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar equals 3,450 milligrams.

“This is an epidemic,” Matt Riviere, whose sons A.J., 21, and Stevie, 19, died on the same day in 2021, after taking pills laced with fentanyl told Gazette reporter Debbie Kelley. “It’s not like this is a little thing that’s going to go away. It’s everywhere.”

Our panel of experts include representatives from law enforcement, medicine, addiction counseling, education, the justice system and the El Paso Coroner’s Office.

They are:

Michael Allen, 4th Judicial District Attorney; Dr. David Steinbruner, chief medical officer for UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North; Adrian Vasquez, interim Colorado Springs police chief; Cory Notestine, director of counseling and wellness, Colorado Springs School District 11; Joe Roybal, El Paso County undersheriff; Katie Blickenderfer, chief clinical officer for Diversus; Randy Royal, Colorado Springs fire chief; and El Paso County Coroner Leon Kelly.

The conversation also will be livestreamed at gazette.com and kktv.com.

This crisis is hitting Colorado especially hard. Our state has the second-fastest-rising rate of overdose deaths from fentanyl in the country. El Paso County saw 102 fentanyl-related overdoses in 2021. Of those, five were minors under age 18.

The number of fentanyl-related deaths in the county has more than doubled each year since 2017.