opioid abuse
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Denver OKs drug injection sites
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Lisa Raville, executive director of the Harm Reduction Action Center, is shown outside the safe injection site across Colfax Avenue from the State Capitol on Nov. 27 in Denver. Once users get a clean needle, they now have to leave the center, which is across the street from the state Capitol, and usually wind up…
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Tax hike for Denver mental health and drug services makes the ballot
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A request for a 0.25 percent sales tax for mental health services and addiction treatment qualified for the November ballot in Denver Tuesday. The measure is expected to raise $45 million to improve “the quality, availability and affordability of community-based mental health and addiction care,” said Caring 4 Denver, the group backing the proposal. RELATED:…
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TIPTON | Finding a remedy for prescribed addiction
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How did opioid and heroin abuse became such a widespread issue? The answer to this question is complex and multifaceted, however, too often opioid abuse begins in a hospital emergency room or doctor’s office. Heroin is illegal, but opioid pills like OxyContin are FDA-approved, and are used in many hospitals and doctor’s offices throughout the…
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Colorado heroin consortium to focus on dealers, not users
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If you’re a heroin user, you have a better chance of getting help in Colorado now. If you’re a dealer, your chances of going to federal prison are increasing. Local, state and federal authorities announced the new initiative Tuesday morning at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver to keep those promises. “It doesn’t take a…
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Moving opioid prescriptions online gets vigorous House debate
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A bill that would move prescriptions for hard drugs online across the state is scheduled for a final vote Monday, but lawmakers gave the idea a tough debate Friday. House Bill 1279 is supported by pharmacies, almost all of which are equipped to take prescriptions straight from the doctor’s office, rather than handed to them…
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DHS awards emergency room grants to combat Colorado opioid crisis
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The Colorado Department of Human Services said Thursday it’s directing $400,000 in grant money to two Colorado emergency rooms to aid in the ongoing fight against the state’s drug addiction crisis. St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster and University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora will participate in pilot program supported by the federal State…
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VIDEO: U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner talks of Colorado’s opioid abuse on Senate floor
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The heartbreaking stories of Coloradans who know the epidemic of opioid abuse first hand are informing national policy. U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Yuma, takes what he hears in his home state to drive his passion around the issue, his office says. He spoke about the issue on the Senate floor Tuesday, referencing…
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Bill to link doctors to pharmacies online combats forgeries for opioids
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A bipartisan bill filed in the Colorado House last week would make it harder for drug abusers to forge or duplicate prescriptions on paper to steal opioids, and it’s kind of simple: Prescribers and pharmacies should close the loop online. The bill would require podiatrists, dentists, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses and optometrists, as…
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Colorado’s Scott Tipton works on triage for opioid-hit communities
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Republican Rep. Scott Tipton announced Wednesday he’s co-signing legislation to help address the opioid epidemic in the U.S, as some of the communities in his district are among the hardest hit in his state. He’s signing on to the ALTO Act – which would essentially allow hospitals to create programs to offer alternative treatment to…
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If you don’t like Colorado weather, wait an hour; if you don’t like the climate, sue
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Just the other day Hot Sheet took note of an impending lawsuit by Pueblo County – in conjunction with other government entities nationwide – against the pharmaceutical industry that manufacturers much of the opioids being abused across Middle America. The legal premise: The way the industry makes and markets the prescription drugs, though federally regulated, makes…
