DENVER (AP) — The coronavirus has overshadowed a long list of other problems that suddenly seemed less urgent in the wake of a deadly virus and its economic destruction.
Included at the top of that list is the opioid epidemic. That crisis is still raging in Colorado and is expected to get worse because of the stress, isolation and financial devastation of the coronavirus.
Colorado will have fewer resources to handle substance abuse. That’s because the state stripped at least $26 million for substance-abuse prevention, awareness and treatment from next year’s state budget.
A host of bills aimed at helping people recover from addiction also were discarded.