overdose
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Federal judge sends illegal arrest lawsuit against Colorado Springs officers to trial
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A jury will decide whether Colorado Springs police officers unlawfully arrested and searched a woman who, moments prior, helped resuscitate a man who had stopped breathing from a drug overdose. Colorado Springs asked U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello to find its officers acted reasonably when they handcuffed and cited Sasha Cronick for…
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Lawmakers kill bill to allow supervised drug injection sites in Colorado
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Proponents seeking to establish supervised drug injection sites in Colorado saw their latest effort in a years-long battle meet a bitter end Wednesday evening. House Bill 1202 sought to give municipalities the power to allow sites in their communities where people could use illegal drugs under supervision of medical professionals, which backers of the policy said would…
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U.S. Rep. Lamborn introduces bill to address fentanyl use among youth
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Colorado’s U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn introduced a bill last week seeking to create and fund fentanyl use prevention efforts targeting the youth. If passed, House Bill 9221 would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to launch a public education campaign on fentanyl use and identify addiction among youth. In addition, the bill would…
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District attorneys offer contrasting takes on new fentanyl law’s felony charge
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District attorneys are offering divergent interpretations of the compromise that finally broke the gridlock and facilitated passage of the legislative response to Colorado’s fentanyl crisis, with some insisting the new language burdens prosecutors while others maintaining it does the contrary. At issue is an amendment to House Bill 1326 that says a person caught with 1…
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As families recount stories of heartbreak, legislators mull contours of response to fentanyl crisis
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There were few constants through Keith’s short life. His family – his parents Trisha and Jason Davidson, and sister Shaelynn – was one. His curiosity – constantly tinkering with electronics, fascination with space, admiration for Elon Musk – was another. But so, too, was the failure of institutions that were in a position to help him as…
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Garnett’s gambit: House speaker fights for legacy-defining fentanyl bill in final year as legislator
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When House Speaker Alec Garnett sat down with Colorado Politics in January to reflect on his last year in office, he said he always prefers taking on “one tough one than a bunch of consensus-driven ideas.” “I always tell Emily that I’m going to focus on one big thing,” said Garnett, one of the youngest to…
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Colorado House committee advances bill that lowers felony threshold for fentanyl possession
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A panel of Colorado legislators advanced a bill Wednesday that increases criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of fentanyl, a middle-of-the-road approach between factions who want harsher penalties and those who decry going back to the tough-on-crime strategy of the past. The House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1326, the legislature’s sweeping attempt to address…
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Advocates diametrically disagree on imprisonment’s role in response to fentanyl crisis
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Fighting through tears, Jessica Chavez recounted before a panel of Colorado lawmakers how her daughter, Yesenia, fatally overdosed in July after taking a fentanyl pill she thought was Percocet. Before her death, Yesi, as her friends called her, had texted her family’s pastor, Chavez told lawmakers. The 21-year-old told him that she wanted “to do…
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INSIGHTS | Ganahl pins fentanyl surge on Polis’ policies
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Heidi Ganahl is an untested candidate in a crowded governor’s race, but where she’s starting provides a strong indication of where Republicans are headed in 2022. Gov. Jared Polis is expected to run on his record of lowering the cost of health care, cracking down on air pollution, promoting greener transportation and making free full-day…
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Colorado to surpass 2020 overdose death toll
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Colorado is on track to surpass its record-breaking overdose death toll from last year, state data show, with fentanyl continuing to play a larger and deadlier role in the state’s spiraling overdose crisis and even as lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and opioid manufacturers begin to wind down. Total data for 2021 is not yet available, state…
