substance abuse
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Lawmakers kill proposal for substance-free seating at Colorado events
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An effort to ban alcohol and drug use in certain event seating sections met an unceremonious end on Tuesday, when it was rejected by a Senate committee. Senate Bill 171 would have required large event venues to designate 4% of seats as “substance-free seating,” where the use of alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and vapes is prohibited. The…
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House Democrats OK substance abuse intervention for Colorado middle, high schools
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A proposal crafted by teenagers that seeks to offer substance abuse intervention guidelines to Colorado schools received approval on Wednesday from the state House. If passed into law, House Bill 1009 would create a committee tasked with developing best practices for middle and high schools to identify students who need substance use treatment, offer intervention and refer the…
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Teen-backed bill aims to bring substance abuse intervention to Colorado middle, high schools
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In Rock Canyon High School, senior Bhavya Surapaneni said it is the norm to walk in on her fellow students vaping in the bathrooms, hear stories of their weekend binge drinking and occasionally watch her peers be suspended for possessing illicit drugs – sent home with nothing more than a brochure on the dangers of…
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Eating disorders, school discipline, substance abuse among proposals Colorado teens seek to advance
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Teenagers from the Colorado Youth Advisory Council are pursuing three new state policies to address substance abuse, eating disorders and disciplinary actions in schools. The council on Friday presented the proposed bills to lawmakers, who voted to advance and send them to a legislative council meeting on Oct. 4 to determine if the bills would go…
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Warning signs belie low uninsured rate across Colorado
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The ever-increasing cost of health care – and increasingly skimpy insurance plans – are threatening to undo progress made under the Affordable Care Act in helping people access care and pay for it, a comprehensive biennial survey has found. Colorado’s uninsured rate held steady this year at 6.5%, according to the 2019 Colorado Health Access…
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Access to mental health, substance abuse treatment in Colorado getting worse, survey finds
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Coloradans say it’s only getting harder to access mental health and substance abuse treatment due to stigma and the prohibitively high cost of therapy. The number of Coloradans who went without needed mental health care in the previous year nearly doubled from 2017, according to the most recent Colorado Health Access Survey by the Colorado…
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Drug overdose deaths across Colorado drop for the first time in years
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Drug overdose deaths across Colorado eased slightly in 2018 for the first time in years, led by a drop in prescription painkiller deaths that have been a root cause of the opioid epidemic. Across the state, 974 people died from drug overdoses last year – a 38-person drop from the state’s record death toll set…
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Help Denver win its war against the opioid epidemic
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As we all read in news reports, the opioid crisis in the United States is getting worse. Of the estimated 72,000 overdose deaths last year – over 1,000 in Colorado alone – opioids are still the biggest culprit. And there are many reasons to be concerned. Fentanyl is the fastest growing cause of overdose deaths,…
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DeGette seeks to stop deceit, kickbacks in substance-abuse treatment
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WASHINGTON – Colorado’s U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette questioned mental health officials at a congressional hearing this week on how to avoid deceptive advertising that could mislead patients desperate for substance abuse treatment. Tuesday’s hearing before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations caps a year-long probe into what some members of Congress…
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FEEDBACK | Let’s help our struggling neighbors — and keep kids off of pot
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‘Caring for Denver’ is a vote for mental health As your readers may know, Denver will be voting in November on a proposal to raise Denver’s sales tax approximately 25 cents per $100. The money raised will go toward funding for detox programs, suicide prevention services, community preventative measures, and other services. If passed in…
