Anne Hazlett, senior advisor for rural affairs with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, will be the keynote speaker at a forum devoted to the opioid crisis and methamphetamines and other drug misuse issues in rural and frontier communities.
The Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention is hosting the Oct. 23 event, which is part of the group's seventh annual meeting. The forum will bring together northern Colorado stakeholders, including county commissioners, mayors and treatment providers, who focus on the opioid and drug use crisis in rural areas.
Rural counties in Colorado have some of the highest drug overdose death rates in the state.
The forum is an opportunity for community members to share information with Hazlett about issues facing these communities, said Jose Esquibel, director of the consortium.
"She can help inform policy through the White House, through the current administration on ways to better help and serve local communities in the rural frontier areas that are trying to address these issues with opioids and other drugs," said Esquibel.
Access to treatment, prescribing practices and opioid education for medical providers and patients are some of the challenges facing rural communities, according to Esquibel.
State Rep. Perry Buck will cohost the event and discuss state initiatives along with Robert Valuck, executive director of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.
