Overdose awareness day turns into "grief" day
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Local advocates are rebranding International Overdose Awareness Day on Saturday as "Overdose Grief Day" — reflecting what the city has called an "unprecedented" rise in fatal overdoses in Denver.
Why it matters: Advocates are uniting to call for a supervised drug use site in Denver, which they believe could play a significant factor in curbing overdose deaths.
By the numbers: Last year, 598 people died from drug overdoses in Denver — a 28% jump from 2022, according to data from the city's medical examiner.
- 65% of those overdoses included fentanyl, the synthetic opioid increasingly found in other illicit drugs like heroin and methamphetamine.
Driving the news: Advocates this week plan a week of action, including publicly calling for a supervised use site.
- Before the Denver City Council reads a proclamation Monday night acknowledging the toll of the crisis, advocates will host a press conference outside city hall as part of a nationwide push for these sites.
What they're saying: "We are grieving on the front lines of the worst overdose crisis we've ever been in with the most unregulated drug supply we've ever seen," Harm Reduction Action Center executive director Lisa Raville tells us.
Context: Raville, whose organization runs a needle exchange program and provides other services to drug users, has advocated for years for supervised use sites.
- Advocates argue the sites, which often let people bring their own drugs, can help reduce drug deaths by allowing trained staff to use medication like naloxone for an opioid overdose.
Yes, but: State lawmakers — who have authority over whether cities like Denver could open a site — have resisted backing the idea, with some saying research and data don't fully support it.
- State lawmakers this spring rejected a bill that would have allowed the sites, while Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, opposes the idea, going so far as to threaten a veto for a potential bill, per the Denver Post.
Between the lines: Local drug policy advocate and overdose survivor Betsy Craft tells us she wants more people to know drug users are most likely to save other users from an overdose, which is a major reason why she supports a site.
The intrigue: Denver District Attorney candidate John Walsh, a Democrat running unopposed this fall, said during his primary campaign he would support creating a pilot program for supervised use sites.
- Raville called Walsh's position "encouraging."
What's next: The Harm Reduction Action Center will host its own awareness day commemoration on Friday.