At 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser met with Gilpin County officials and residents at the Gilpin County Public Library to discuss current issues. Several officials attended the Town Hall, including all three County Commissioners, the County Manager, the County Clerk, the Human Resources Director, the County Coroner, and the Sheriff.

Weiser has been working on creating awareness around the opioid crisis and seeks to assist counties in utilizing their opioid settlement funds through the creation of social programs.

“In the last two years, more people died from drug overdoses, mostly opioids, than died in car crashes and gun violence,” said Weiser. He added that the response to this epidemic ought to be “multi-faceted.”

A multi-faceted approach including prevention and treatment is underway in the state and the country to combat the opioid crisis. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) involves an addict taking a legal, prescribed substance like suboxone in combination with counseling in order to wean off opioids and to treat withdrawal. Gilpin County Sheriff Kevin Armstrong weighed in on the matter, saying that several inmates in the jail receive treatment.

Public Health Coordinator Alisa Witt said the County has a MAT van onsite during drug court so that the judge can refer those with drug offenses to the program.

Coroner Zane Laubhan brought up the fact that these drug issues are not new and that there was heroin in Commerce City as early as 1980. He also reported that a Gilpin County physician had his license removed in 2007 as a result of five deaths related to over-prescribing.

Weiser expressed regret over the matter and said we have had more overdose deaths in the last two years than ever before due to the creation of the synthetic drug, fentanyl, which is fifty times stronger than opium.

Commissioner Hollingsworth added, “This effort is new and it’s based on the opioid settlement funds. It’s good to embrace that.”

Weiser told the story of big pharma and how pharmacies and doctors overprescribed opioid drugs for years, leading to millions of victims remaining addicted or dying. Attorneys General across several states sought to hold those guilty accountable and, among other actions, require settlements from them.

He explained that the Sackler family attempted to avoid these consequences and stripped the assets from their family-owned Purdue pharmaceuticals, after which the states involved sued the Sackler family personally. Litigation is still ongoing to gain this settlement.

To date, Colorado has secured $740 million from the prosecution of pharmaceutical companies, to be disbursed to 19 regions. Weiser shared that 80 percent of the monies will be available at the local and regional levels.

Senator Jeanne Nicholson brought up the after-school programs here in Gilpin at the Community Center. Weiser mentioned the “Sources of Strength Leadership” program that is successful in Golden.

Witt talked about the elementary program she co-teaches called “Lifeskills,” but noted that Gilpin could use an additional program for high school students.

A resident asked about social media and its influence on the younger generation. Weiser said one response would be to create social media ambassadors; another would be to hold companies accountable.

When referring to predatory companies he has sued, like Juul, he trenchantly remarked: “We’re investigating them. We are committed to protecting the kids.”

Nicholson raised the alarm that there are no available inpatient beds at mental health facilities for those in crisis and Witt confirmed that this dire state of affairs is also true for teenagers.

Laubhan shared, with a mix of sadness and frustration, that people who are addicted to fentanyl often are resuscitated multiple times, getting caught in a cycle between the ER and jail.

Armstrong aptly pointed out that the jails need to have mental health services and several people agreed that we also need to create follow-up support. Weiser proposed developing an interim program for everyone on MAT in the jail until they can be approved for Medicaid and receive other treatment services.

Weiser asserted, “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety; it’s connection.” He added that building connections and trusting relationships is the best preventive strategy and treatment method. He admitted the challenges to the mental health crisis involve building up the workforce and that the State has an imperative to meet that need.

Weiser thanked everyone for their input and said he would love to work with Gilpin County on building programs for prevention and treatment of opioid addiction. The Town Hall ended at about 6:05 p.m.