This growing epidemic

After reading a recent Denver Gazette article discussing Colorado’s $8.25 million in opioid response assistance to organizations and jails, I wonder: How can we claim to lead the fight against this crisis when Coloradans don’t have access to all FDA-approved overdose reversal agents? Without every tool available, our state is not fully equipped to combat this growing epidemic.

The opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2017, and it has only worsened since then. In 2023, approximately five Coloradans died each day from overdose, totaling 1,865 lives lost. In the last decade, overdose deaths in our state have more than doubled, jumping from 839 in 2013 to 1,865 in 2023. Prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin and non-prescribed drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, are involved in approximately 75% of overdose deaths.

Colorado’s standing order allows for all who may be in the position to assist with an overdose to carry a reversal agent, which is a great start to saving lives, but the language of the order is limited despite the recent innovations of other FDA-approved products. This unintended flaw means that Coloradans cannot access all the tools available to them. The language of the standing order must be updated so municipalities and frontline responders can access the medications best suited to their needs.

We must act now. Every day we delay, more lives are lost. Colorado cannot claim to be leading the charge against the opioid crisis while withholding critical tools that could prevent overdose deaths.

Thomas A. Miller

Highlands Ranch

Animal suffering unacceptable

Re: (“GUEST OPINION: Vote No on Denver’s 308, 309: Protect jobs and our Western identity”).

Every cowboy hat, scrap of trim, or craft containing fur caused an animal inescapable suffering and death. The introduction of these ordinances reflects a growing awareness that animal suffering is unacceptable—whether for fashion, food, or any other reason. As a Denver resident, I welcome this compassionate change.

Most of the fur industry’s skins come from fur factory farms — miserable and filthy places where animals are often crammed in wire cages for their entire lives. Many animals go insane under these conditions, resorting to self-mutilation or even cannibalism. Parasites and disease run rampant, making their suffering even worse.

Fur is dead. Cities nationwide are banning fur, understanding that such cruelty has no place in a kind society. I hope Denver joins these cities.

Celeste Yamada

Denver

Pro-Palestinian protests

Regarding Vince Bzdek’s “As War Turns 1…” editorial, I wonder: How many Palestinians must be killed — it’s reportedly more than 40,000 at this point — before an editorial like Bzdek’s will stop couching pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses as anti-semitic or against a university’s edict of “hashing out our toughest social issues”?

While at the same time, saying nothing of the Israeli occupation or the IDF’s ongoing slaughter of thousands of innocents in its quest to quash Hamas and Hezbollah. In Bzdek’s call for Colorado’s colleges to “teach and learn rather than advocate,” he clearly takes a side in the ongoing war.

Mark Collins

Denver

A complicated story

Before casting your ballot, take a moment to reflect on the role Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) plays in our state. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, just look outside — CPW touches nearly every aspect of our outdoor life, protecting and managing the wildlife we cherish. As a current CPW commissioner, I offer my personal perspective on this critical issue, which does not represent the entire Commission.

Colorado’s wildlife story is a complicated one, with both triumphs and challenges. By the early 20th century, species like elk, deer, mountain lions, and bobcats were nearly driven to extinction by unregulated hunting and external demands.

But the people of Colorado wanted to restore that lost balance. In 1897, CPW’s predecessor was created to do just that.

Thanks to decades of hard work, over 960 species now thrive in Colorado, supported by CPW’s careful management and reintroduction efforts. A shining example of this is the reintroduction of the lynx in the 1990s — a species whose numbers continue to grow. Similarly, the recovery of the swift fox has been so successful that Colorado now provides these animals to other states facing dwindling populations.

What’s important to remember is that these successes are largely funded by hunting and fishing, which contribute 80% of CPW’s revenue.

Undermining these resources could jeopardize the wildlife we’ve fought so hard to restore and the organization’s ability to protect them.

The question now is: What legacy do you want to leave for Colorado’s wildlife? I trust CPW’s expert team of biologists and their science-based approach, and that’s why I’m voting no on Proposition 127—because the future of Colorado’s wildlife depends on it.

Marie Haskett

Meeker

Two birds with one stone?

As we travel Colorado highways, we find the rest areas closed. Why? Cost of upkeep. Vandalism. Illegal activities.

We also have a problem with providing affordable housing to the underprivileged citizens.

Maybe we can provide some relief for both problems. How?

Set up a manufactured home at each rest area. Provide a family with a place to live. There can be an application process or even a lottery.

In return, they keep the rest area picked up, stocked with toilet supplies and report to CDOT and law enforcement if supplies are needed or some suspicious activity is taking place.

Time period can be a year (or more) which would allow the family to be able to save some money for when it comes time to relocate.

In this scenario, rest areas can be kept open and kept up.

A family can have place to live.

Seems like this might take care of ‘Two birds with One Stone’.

Mark Stahl

Hartsel