This email blast provides a one-stop-shop for key updates and news tied to work underway to address the opioid crisis in Adams County, supported through the Rocky Mountain Partnership.

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In 2021, Attorney General Phil Weiser and local government leaders unveiled a first-of-its-kind joint framework for distributing funds Colorado stands to receive from litigation settlements reached with companies who fueled the opioid crisis. For more information on the joint framework and litigation settlement click HERE.

Adams County is one of 19 regions across Colorado that was allocated litigation settlement funds. The Rocky Mountain Partnership (RMP) is supporting the Adams County region to address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic as the facilitator of the Adams County Opioid Council.

The Adams County Opioid Council received 13 applications for the first round of funding by the January 31st deadline. A vetting committee has completed initial scoring of the applications, using the publicly available Scoring Matrix, and shared those initial scores with voting members.

Voting members will convene on February 22nd to reach consensus on how they plan to award dollars.

Please note that this meeting will be open to the public via Zoom Webinar. Register to stream this webinar by clicking the button below.

In order to get the most community input on the Council's decisions as possible, community members will be invited to provide feedback on the draft awards for this first round of funding via survey between Monday February 27th and Friday March 3rd.

You can expect an email with a link to that survey as soon as it is live.

Additionally, any clarifying questions the Council has for applicants will be sent directly via email and collected ahead of the March 8th meeting.

Below you'll find local, state, and national news and resources related to this work.

Denver wanted to open safe drug-use sites four years ago. Will the legislature finally let it?

When Denver’s city council cleared the way for a supervised drug-use site to open here in late 2018, it left one roadblock in place: The state legislature had to give its blessing first. More than four years later, a group of Colorado lawmakers are preparing a bill that would clear that obstacle.

The proposal, which is being drafted in the House, would let local governments decide whether to allow such sites to open in their jurisdiction. It wouldn’t set aside any money to fund any facilities, and cities would still have to provide their own approval. State drug laws also wouldn’t change; any illicit substances brought into a sanctioned site would have to be acquired elsewhere.

Check Out State Legislation Impacting This Work

Over 380 bills have been introduced since the kickoff of the state legislative session.

The RMP Backbone Team is keeping an eye on legislation impacting the network's shared goals through our state legislative tracker.

Click the button to view RMP's state legislative tracker.