Dear Friend,

When I took office as Colorado’s Attorney General, I made taking on the opioid crisis a top priority. I am proud of what our team has accomplished over the last 4 ½ years—and we have more work to do.

In late August, I joined our second annual Colorado Opioid Abatement conference in Montrose. Over 200 leaders–including elected officials, peer counselors, service providers, public health professionals, law enforcement officers, and others–came together to share lessons and deepen collaboration. The conference helped us achieve our goal of building a community of leaders who exchange ideas and support our mutual commitment to saving lives through more and better prevention strategies, treatment options, and support for those in recovery. (The agenda and recordings are here, and an article about the conference is here).

At the conference, I was honored to accept the inaugural John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Principles Award on behalf of Colorado. We were selected as the best state in the nation for our management of the opioid settlement funds.

At the conference, our office also launched a new public awareness campaign targeting youth and their parents around drug use that focuses on the healthy choices most teens make. The “Connect Effect” campaign has a simple message—we in Colorado care about one another, we care about our kids, and we all are working to support our kids in making safe choices.

Today, youth have easy access to counterfeit prescription pills—often labeled as Xanax, Oxycodone, or Adderall—that contain fentanyl and are deadly. Yet, as highlighted in our campaign, over 87% of kids will encourage their friends not to experiment with such pills. We know that the opposite of addiction is connection, and this campaign highlights the positive role of trusted adults and peers to support teens and talk about the risks of fentanyl and pill misuse.

In 2021 and 2022, deaths from drug overdoses or drug poisoning (mostly opioids) were responsible for more deaths than car crashes and gun violence deaths combined. We must do all we can to address this crisis, and it will remain a top priority for my work as your Attorney General.

Thank you for supporting me in doing this important work.

Phil

Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado - Anna Noschese, Registered Agent.

Phil Weiser for Colorado
PO Box 13644
Denver, CO 80201
United States

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