For Aly Garrett, the safe haven provided by Tribe Recovery Homes is a source of inspiration and, she hopes, salvation. The 34-year-old is on probation for charges related to fentanyl use. Her addiction started four years ago while she was in an abusive relationship and dealing with trauma that stemmed from her mother’s use of … Read more
Legislation promotes construction of data centers. Not everyone supports the idea. Here’s why. A bill that would provide state tax rebates to draw data centers to Colorado has run into opposition from critics who warn of the facilities’ large demands for energy and water and potentially higher costs for other electric customers. The legislation would … Read more
A bill set to be unveiled in the Colorado legislature would levy a new fee on businesses that produce alcoholic beverages, then direct tens of millions of dollars collected each year to addiction treatment and recovery programs. Sen. Kevin Priola, a Democrat from Henderson, said he plans to introduce legislation Wednesday to create a “state … Read more
Colorado’s legal psychedelic therapy industry is beginning to take shape as regulators recently unveiled the first rules regarding facilitator education, training and licensure. In late February, the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) released a draft of these rules, which was informed by recommendations from the 15-member Natural Medicine Advisory Board, The board spent the better part … Read more
Elisabeth Francis keeps a small glass bottle on her desk. Inside is a printout of the heartbeat of a man that she knew for more than 10 years after meeting him in the early days of her career as a homeless outreach worker in Denver. John Hull died in July in a hospital. “I was … Read more
Dear Gov. Newsom: Thanks for the new laws. Thanks for the new inspectors. Thanks, I guess, for trying, even a little. But — and isn’t there always a but? — it’s not working. And it’s maddening that the fraud and abuse still plaguing California’s addiction treatment industry aren’t being exposed by California’s regulators, or California’s … Read more
HOUSTON — The apartment complex where Teresa Eddins now lives is so quiet that “you can hear a pin drop” at night, she says — a stark contrast to the constant noise she withstood while living beneath a bridge two years ago. She was one of the first people who moved into a former hotel in … Read more
A bill spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo to combat the rising drug scourge of xylazine, a powerful animal tranquilizer that users mix with fentanyl and other substances, passed the House Monday and now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. Xylazine, also known by its street names “tranq” and “zombie drug” — … Read more
The patients flocked to metro Denver methadone clinics in mid to late summer, five or six to a car. Most were users of illicit opioids, including fentanyl. Many were homeless. And all were from Pueblo or other parts of southern Colorado, driven up Interstate 25 by independent transportation contractors who suddenly had flooded the state’s … Read more
