Overdoses

People gathered in Grand Junction on August 28, to remember the Coloradans lost to overdose in 2023. Although overdose deaths in 2023 have decreased nationwide, Colorado and Mesa County saw an increase.

High school students from Durango are pushing for a change they say is necessary to combat fentanyl poisoning: ensuring students can’t get in trouble for carrying the overdose reversal drug naloxone wherever they go, including at school.

Colorado is among several states that ensure schools have access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone for free or at reduced cost. But most districts hadn’t signed up by the start of the school year for a state distribution program amid stigma around the lifesaving treatment.

New research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that teens haven’t used more illegal drugs over the last decade. However, they are dying from drug overdoses at twice the rate.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams recently issued a national advisory urging Americans to carry the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone. Since…