{"id":17467,"date":"2024-06-09T17:56:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-09T16:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=17467"},"modified":"2024-10-05T14:58:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T13:58:41","slug":"colorado-fentanyl-deaths-continue-to-rise-deas-new-approach-to-combat-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2024\/06\/colorado-fentanyl-deaths-continue-to-rise-deas-new-approach-to-combat-the-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado fentanyl deaths continue to rise. DEA\u2019s new approach to combat the problem."},"content":{"rendered":"<header id=\"masthead\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"middle-header-contain\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div id=\"social-nav-contain\" class=\"desktop-only\">\n<nav class=\"social-navigation\" aria-label=\"Social Links Menu\"><a class=\"custom-logo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/\" rel=\"home\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"custom-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?fit=892%2C190&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?w=892&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 892w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?resize=300%2C64&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?resize=768%2C164&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?resize=400%2C85&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/cropped-cropped-cropped-colorado_sun_rising_sun_logo_yellow-1.png?fit=892%2C190&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" alt=\"The Colorado Sun\" width=\"286\" height=\"61\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"site-branding\">\n<div class=\"site-identity\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"site-content\">\n<section id=\"primary\" class=\"content-area category-crime-and-courts category-health category-news tag-drug-enforcement-administration tag-fentanyl\"><main id=\"main\" class=\"site-main\"><\/p>\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<div><span class=\"author-avatar\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil-150x150.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Ernesto_Cabral_Foto_Perfil-150x150.png?w=370&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 370w\" alt=\"Ernesto Cabral\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" \/><\/span><span class=\"byline\"><span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/author\/ernesto\/\">Ernesto Cabral<\/a><\/span><\/span><span class=\"posted-on\"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-05-22T04:12:00-06:00\">4:12 AM MDT on May 22, 2024<\/time><span class=\"updated-label\">Updated\u00a0<\/span><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2024-05-28T09:16:30-06:00\">9:16 AM MDT on May 28, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"newspack-post-subtitle\">At least 1,089 people died from fentanyl poisoning in 2023, up 18.4% from the year before, preliminary data shows<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"main-content\">\n<section id=\"block-21\" class=\"above-content widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"credibility-indicators__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"credibility-indicators__closed\">\n<h4 class=\"credibility-indicators__closed__label\"><a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/editorial-standards-and-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Trust Project<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\"><figcaption>As many as 7 in 10 counterfeit pills tested in 2023 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, or roughly the amount that fits on the tips of a pencil, national DEA laboratory testing showed. (Photo courtesy of Rocky Mountain Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<article id=\"post-387358\" class=\"post-387358 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-crime-and-courts category-health category-news tag-drug-enforcement-administration tag-fentanyl type-of-work-news entry\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Fentanyl-related overdose deaths hit a new high in 2023 as law enforcement seized record amounts of the synthetic opioid, official data shows.<\/p>\n<p>At least 1,089 people died from fentanyl poisoning last year, up 18.4% from 920 the year before, according to preliminary data released by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.<\/p>\n<p>A surge that started five years ago has continued, with the number of fentanyl-related deaths increasing more than 900% from the 102 recorded in 2018, data from the health department\u2019s Center for Health and Environmental Data shows.<\/p>\n<p>Denver recorded more deaths in 2023 than any other county with 321, compared with Adams (136), Arapahoe (133), Jefferson (124) and El Paso (116).<\/p>\n<p>The health department anticipates releasing final data in June.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \"><\/aside>\n<p>So far this year, 141 fatalities have been reported to the CDPHE, however the data is typically lagging by at least three months. Denver again leads with 37 deaths from fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s records tell a similar story about Colorado. In 2023, 1,187 fatalities were registered provisionally in the \u201cother synthetic narcotics\u201d category, which mainly comprises fentanyl. Unlike the state agency, the CDC said it does not have an exact number of fentanyl deaths.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers for 2023 mark a 22.2% rise from the previous year and a 785% surge since 2018, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nvss\/vsrr\/drug-overdose-data.htm\">CDC database<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are facing more than just an opioid crisis in the U.S\u201d, said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. \u201cStimulants like methamphetamine, which is more prevalent in use in the Western U.S., are now increasingly being contaminated or used together with fentanyl.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div id=\"id_335754\" class=\"newspack-popup-container newspack-popup newspack-inline-popup newspack-lightbox-no-border\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-segments=\"\" data-frequency=\"0,1,5,day\">As fentanyl deaths in Colorado soared, the Drug Enforcement Administration seizures of the drug here also spiked. In 2023, the agency confiscated a record <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2024\/01\/31\/record-amount-fentanyl-confiscated-colorado-2023\/\">2.61 million pills<\/a>\u00a0in Colorado, up from 1.9 million in 2022 and 565,200 in 2021. This year, the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division is on pace to beat those numbers, after seizing 1.4 million pills, between January and March, more than half of the amount seized last year.<\/div>\n<div tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-segments=\"\" data-frequency=\"0,1,5,day\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-table\" data-src=\"visualisation\/18059398\">\n<div class=\"flourish-credit\">News of the rising death toll comes days after the <a href=\"https:\/\/krdo.com\/news\/2024\/05\/17\/colorado-dea-working-to-stop-money-flow-of-cartels-from-drug-trafficking-of-fentanyl\/\">DEA announced a new strategy<\/a>\u00a0to combat fentanyl in the Rocky Mountain region. Earlier this month around 200 money service businesses and financial institutions that aid in sending money to people in other countries were asked to cooperate in an investigation into the cash flowing to support the illicit opioid market.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The probe, called Operation \u201cCash Out,\u201d was launched in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana by the DEA, IRS and the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the DEA said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. authorities say fentanyl constitutes a multi-billion-dollar enterprise for Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa and Jalisco, which operate near the U.S. border.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only thing they care about is their money. This interagency operation intends to target the networks and seize their assets through building stronger relationships with the private sector financial community,\u201d said David Olesky, acting special agent in charge for DEA\u2019s Rocky Mountain Field Division, in the release.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2022\/05\/11\/colorados-new-fentanyl-law-explained\/\">new legislation<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2023\/03\/08\/social-media-marketplace-illicit-drugs-colorado-ag-report\/\">official investigations<\/a>\u00a0and initiatives from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2023\/10\/09\/fentanyl-deaths-colleges\/\">families and schools<\/a>\u00a0have emerged to prevent and combat the rising number of fentanyl-related deaths in Colorado, a bill\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/bills\/hb24-1003\">signed into law on April 22<\/a>\u00a0making it legal for students and staff at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2023\/10\/03\/overdose-reversal-drugs-colorado-schools-fentanyl\/\">public and charter school<\/a>s to carry and administer opioid overdose reversal drugs such as naloxone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is committed to doing all we can to prevent drug overdoses, and one of our current strategies is to increase access to naloxone,\u201d said the state agency in a statement.<\/p>\n<section id=\"block-37\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\">\n<div id=\"ribbon\" class=\"ribbon\">\n<div class=\"tp-container-inner\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<footer id=\"colophon\" class=\"site-footer\">\n<aside class=\"widget-area footer-widgets\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"Footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<section id=\"block-45\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"widget widget_nav_menu\">\n<div class=\"menu-footer-info-container\">\n<p><em>Source: https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2024\/05\/22\/colorado-fentanyl-deaths-dea-approach\/<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"site-info\">\n<aside class=\"widget-area\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"Below Footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ernesto Cabral4:12 AM MDT on May 22, 2024Updated\u00a09:16 AM MDT on May 28, 2024 At least 1,089 people died from fentanyl poisoning in 2023, up 18.4% from the year before, preliminary data shows The Trust Project As many as 7 in 10 counterfeit pills tested in 2023 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,122,14,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drug-specifics","category-fentanyl","category-social-affairs","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}