Colorado to spend $1 million to continue fight against opioid abuse
Colorado is amplifying its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic with the creation of a research center that makes the state a national leader.
“This is a major step forward,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper as he signed the measure into law Senate Bill 193.
Looking at the 10,000 drug overdoses in Colorado since 2000, particularly opioid-related deaths, he added: “There’s no questioning that’s something out of control.”
The $1 million effort housed at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora will focus on expanding prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.
FILE – This Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. For more than a decade, members of a little-known group called the Pain Care Forum have blanketed Washington with messages touting prescription painkillers’ vital role in the lives of millions of Americans, creating an echo chamber that has quietly derailed efforts to curb U.S. consumption of the drugs, which accounts for two-thirds of the world’s usage. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
FILE – In this Jan. 18, 2013 file photo, Schedule 2 narcotics: Morphine Sulfate, OxyContin and Opana are displayed for a photograph in Carmichael, Calif. California doctors will be required to check a database of prescription narcotics before writing scripts for addictive drugs under legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, that aims to address the scourge of opioid abuse. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
FILE – This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
FILE – This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
FILE – This Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. For more than a decade, members of a little-known group called the Pain Care Forum have blanketed Washington with messages touting prescription painkillers’ vital role in the lives of millions of Americans, creating an echo chamber that has quietly derailed efforts to curb U.S. consumption of the drugs, which accounts for two-thirds of the world’s usage. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
FILE – In this Jan. 18, 2013 file photo, Schedule 2 narcotics: Morphine Sulfate, OxyContin and Opana are displayed for a photograph in Carmichael, Calif. California doctors will be required to check a database of prescription narcotics before writing scripts for addictive drugs under legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, that aims to address the scourge of opioid abuse. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
