Fentanyl deaths rose faster in Colorado than most states

DJ Summers

3 years ago

FILE - In this June 6, 2017 file photo, an example of the amount of fentanyl that can be deadly after a news conference about deaths from fentanyl exposure, at DEA Headquarters in Arlington Va. The Justice Department’s inspector general says the Drug Enforcement Administration was “slow to respond” as America grappled with a rising opioid epidemic. The watchdog released a report Tuesday examining the agency’s regulatory and enforcement efforts to control opioids. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado’s current struggle with fentanyl isn’t unique among U.S. states, but it has been uniquely bad in its severity.

Colorado elected officials have quickly ignited a conversation about fentanyl following the drug overdose deaths of five people in Commerce City. The synthetic opioid is commonly used to lace other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Colorado had the eighth-highest national increase in fentanyl deaths from 2015 to 2021.

Colorado has experienced 1,578 fentanyl-related deaths since 2015, a 1008% increase in a six-year time span.

Colorado’s fentanyl rates rose even faster in the most recent two-year span. Fentanyl fatalities in
Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, California and Texas increased by almost five times between 2019 and 2021.