by Mark Smiley | May 26, 2021 | Main Articles
Dominated By Denver, State Has 2021’s 4th Biggest Drug Problem; 20% Of Citizens Are Using Illicit Drugs
by Glen Richardson
Denver Drug Dealing: In this Denver drug bust law enforcement seized 4 lbs. of meth, 5 lb. of heroin, 4 lbs. of cocaine and 155,000 fentanyl pills. A woman was charged as the drug kingpin.
When the pandemic hit last year it created the perfect storm for drug abuse and overdose deaths in Denver and Colorado. Ranked seventh in the U.S. for drug use prior to the outbreak, the pandemic created long periods of social isolation. Deaths shot up quickly among these who overdosed, their tolerance decreased by abstinence.
A new study ranking the 50 states and the District of Columbia by website WalletHub categorizes Colorado as the nation’s 4th biggest drug problem in 2021. Sadder yet, Colorado continues to rank 4th for adults who used illicit drugs in the past month. Equally troublesome, the state’s share of teenagers using illicit drugs in the past month is 5th, just one notch lower.
Moreover, the state ranks 6th for drug arrests on college campuses per 1,000 students.
Annually, more than 20% of Denver and Colorado residents will use illicit drugs. This is higher than anywhere else and equates to over a half million people abusing drugs. In Denver, a mere 2% will check into a drug rehabilitation treatment program. With so many abusing substances and so few getting help, it’s not surprising that the addiction rate is escalating. Although overdose deaths are spiraling, fewer and fewer residents in Denver and statewide are obtaining proper treatment.
First In Four Drugs
On All Four: Colorado is the only state with heavy consumption of four major intoxicants: Marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and opioids (prescription painkillers and heroin).
Another startling fact: Colorado is the only state with heavy consumption of four major intoxicants: Marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and opioids (prescription painkillers and heroin).
According to a study published by Denver Public Health, the percent of treatment admissions for methamphetamines doubled from 3% in 2012 to 6% in 2016; heroin admittances jumped from 4% in 2012 to 7% in 2016. The percentage of clients reporting in for marijuana as their primary substance only increased 1% during that time period.
More alarming, fentanyl-related death rates per 100,000 people quadrupled during that same time period. In Denver, overdoses involving fentanyl more than doubled in 2020 compared with 2019. And the deaths from fentanyl were seven times the number in 2018, according to the Denver medical examiner’s office. Denver Health’s Dr. Joshua Blum explains fentanyl this way: “Fentanyl is like kerosene. Methamphetamine is like natural gas.” When the pandemic came along it was like, “Let’s add some diesel fuel.”
Meth Is Murder
Methamphetamine is a very big problem in Denver and statewide. In fact, some believe it’s a bigger issue than opioids like heroin and fentanyl. According to an article by NPR, crystal meth was involved in nearly 300 overdose deaths in 2018.
Some health officials say the scariest thing about meth in Colorado is that this is one of the states where “it’s still kind of legal.” There are several possible defenses that can potentially reduce or dismiss meth drug charges.
A drug called “Desoxyn” is currently legal in Colorado (It is a Schedule II controlled substance according to the DEA.) It has effects that are disturbingly similar to crystal meth and doctors are reportedly prescribing it at alarming rates. The drug’s medical name is Methamphetamine Hydrochloride.
Meth Crimes Triple
Falling For Fentanyl: Chart by the Denver Medical Examiner’s office shows the upward trend in fentanyl related deaths in Denver County from 2017 through 2020.
Meth-related crimes among adults have tripled in the last few years. It’s cheap, easy to get, and highly addictive. State-funded treatment centers in Colorado are full.
Police have successfully closed meth labs statewide, but the Mexican cartel is keeping Colorado stocked. Furthermore, law enforcement constantly confiscates large shipments along the southern borders. Notwithstanding the best efforts by law enforcement, they also readily admit that, “as long as there is meth, there will be customers using it.”
“Colorado’s overdose rates are alarming. The rate at which our friends, family members, and neighbors are dying is nothing short of an emergency,” asserts AspenRidge Recovery with locations in Lakewood, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. “We’ve been lucky enough to watch hundreds of Colorado residents get back on the right track.”
Drug Neighborhoods
Cutting The Price: Meth labs are often found in million dollar homes and in units of apartment buildings. This Denver row home sold for just half the original $800,000 asking price after an inspector found high levels of meth contamination.
The Denver Drug & Alcohol Crime Report updated through May 10, reveals Denver has had 1,032 drug crimes so far this year. That’s an average of 243.2 crimes per month or 8.0 crimes per day.
The average number of drug crimes per neighborhood this year is 13.23. Neighborhood residents express to the Chronicle the opinion that, “drug problems are in other areas, not where we reside.” Most often mentioned is East Colfax, which actually only ranks 15th for drug crimes thus far in 2021. Two other frequently cited neighborhoods are City Park, currently ranked 40th, and Montbello, ranked 43rd.
The top five neighborhoods for drug crimes this year are Civic Center, DIA, the Central Business District, Auraria, and Sun Valley. Civic Center, with 29.96 crimes per 1,000 residents and DIA at 27.62, far outrank other neighborhoods. In comparison, Denver’s Central Business District, currently ranked 3rd, averaged only 9.88 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Take Mom’s Advice
Moms Fight Back: Colorado moms tackle the pressing issues facing kids, including drugs. Online, in their neighborhoods, and with publications such as this, they provide helpful, constructive information.
For families with kids the first line of defense in the battle against drug abuse begins at home. In Colorado Moms Fight Back or MFB suggests ways families can become involved in the fight against drugs. They include Rise Above Colorado, a drug abuse prevention organization that measurably impacts teen perceptions and attitudes about the risks of substance abuse to help them make empowered, healthy choices.
The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids is another group MFB suggests. This organization translates the science of teen drug use and addiction for families, providing parents with direct support to prevent and cope with teen drug and alcohol abuse.
Lastly there’s Stay Sharp, a hard hitting prevention program designed to educate students on drug-alcohol abuse and the consequences of their choices. Information: momsfightback.org.
by Mark Smiley | May 26, 2021 | Main Articles
Homeless Camp Is Just Blocks From Park Hill Home Of Hickenlooper Who Said He Would End Homelessness; Advocates Demand The Homeless ‘Liberate’ Hick House For Use By All
by Glen Richardson
When the pandemic hit Denver last year and layoff climbed, the lack of affordable housing resulted in homeless encampments growing exponentially. As encampments multiplied, the problem began spreading to surrounding neighborhoods.
That’s where this story begins. More precisely in Denver’s Park Hill, a community that rivals Riverside Dr. in New York, the Auteuil and Passy in Paris, and Mayfair in London. The neighborhood was designed to showcase Mayor Speer’s Beautiful City Program. U.S. Senator and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has a $2.5 million home here. With homes selling in five days or less, 52 homes and two condos were for sale last month, listed from $285,000 to $1,975,00.
This month an encampment with 45 shelters serving 50 people opens in a parking lot behind the church at 5209 Montview Blvd. The arrangement is scheduled to remain at least until Dec. 31. Homeless are being moved here from Capitol Hill. Suddenly, the plight of those living on the streets becomes intimately linked to the well-being of everybody else living in the neighborhood.
Hick’s Hood: Park Hill neighborhood was designed by landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted. Many of the neighborhoods first residences were designed by Fisher & Fisher.
Serenity Of Home
Hickenlooper, who as a U.S. Senator, spends much of his time in Washington, D.C. — the nation’s No. 1 homeless city — likely looks forward to returning to his Montview Blvd. home surrounded by an abundance of mature trees, lushly landscaped medians and generous setback. But with a homeless encampment moving within a block of Hick’s home he may soon be scanning Yelp reviews for a highly rated real estate agent.
The paradox is that Hickenlooper declared he would “end homelessness” with his Denver’s Road Home initiative in 2005. It was a miserable failure. An audit released in April 2019, by Denver Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA, concluded: “A lack of a cohesive overall strategy along with unclear authority and understaffing hindered the city’s ability to comprehensively address homelessness or measure the effectiveness of its efforts.”
The audit revealed that in 2018, the Metro Homeless Initiative identified 3,445 individuals experiencing homelessness. Around $37 million was budgeted for homeless services in 2018 and in 2019. Denver increased that to more than $51 million. In a warning seemingly still being ignored, O’Brien said, “Millions of dollars won’t help solve the problem if we aren’t tracking data and aligning our policies from organization to organization to support the use of the city’s resources.”
Camp Hick
Some homeless advocates are demanding that Hickenlooper make available his home to the denizens of the new Park Hill Safe homeless encampment. They point out the homeless will need places to go during the day and do not want to be stuck in a hot asphalt parking lot in the summer and what better than the green expanses of the Hickenlooper home. In the winter he could open up his home while he is off in Washington, D.C. “He promised to end homelessness in 10 years but failed miserably,” said David Johnson. “Opening up his home to the new Park Hill homeless residents is the least he could do to start making amends and if he won’t then the homeless should just go down there and take it over.”
Upset Neighbors Go To Court
Whether Hickenlooper is upset or not, other Park Hill residents are distraught and troubled. In the most significant attempt ever to block the establishment of the camping site, a group of Park Hill residents sued the nonprofit Colorado Village Collaborative, Park Hill United Methodist Church and the City of Denver to stop the neighborhood camping site. Residents in neighborhoods such as Globeville and Elyria-Swansea have vocally argued against camping sites, but this is the first lawsuit.
A temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was filed by attorneys Heather Anderson Thomas and Douglas W. Baier on behalf of five plaintiffs on May 6. The site has not met the requirements set out by the city, according to the complaint filed by five Park Hill residents.
The lawsuit stated the proposed site “poses a real danger to minors and school-aged children, does not address the impact it will have on the neighborhood, and displaces people from an area with available resources to an area not equipped to handle the purposes of the camping site.”
Just 13 days after the injunction was filed, Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones dismissed the lawsuit asserting that the plaintiffs had not exhausted all of their administrative remedies to the Denver Board of Adjustment for Zoning Appeals. The plaintiffs indicate they are now filing such an appeal but note that the camp will be in before the appeal is even heard.
Colorado Village Collaborative and Park Hill United Methodist Church celebrated the ruling with a joint statement declar
ing “we are grateful to the many Park Hill neighbors who have already opened their arms to receive their newest neighbors by expressing their support, opening their wallets, swapping recipes that will feed a crowd, and committing to volunteer on an ongoing basis.”
Not All Residents Hostile
Some residents in Park Hill believe that they must demonstrate their progressive values. They indicated that they would be willing to bake cookies and brownies for the new Park Hill homeless. Terrell wrote on Westword’s Facebook: “I am mortified today to say I am from Park Hill. That said, there are literally hundreds of us actively planning how we will welcome these brothers and sisters, and truly demonstrate what a privileged neighborhood can be capable of, beyond hate.”
Preschool Steps Away
The homeless encampment will be just a few feet from the Children’s Center at Park Hill United Methodist Church. The pre-school offers half-day, full-day and after school programs. There are three public schools in the neighborhood, Park Hill Elementary School, The Goddard School of Denver and Odyssey School of Denver.
Residents in the Capitol Hill neighborhood where the encampment is being relocated from claimed that Morey Middle School near the site became a safety issue. “Tents lined the public-right-of-way between the street and the sidewalk outside of the school, and there were baskets and boxes filled with belongings.
Lara Lee Hullinghorst, a lobbyist and daughter of former Colorado Speaker of the House Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, said she was scared to walk out of her apartment without her husband or a friend after a man grabbed her arm and threatened to rape and kill her. She wasn’t certain, but believed the man lived in the camp across the street.
Church Champions Justice
Completing final preparations to share their space with unhoused homeless, Park Hill United Methodist Church — also home to Temple Micah — has a long hi
story of supporting racial and social justice. They’ve offered sanctuary to immigrants and refugees.
Moreover, they have been hosting women experiencing home
lessness for years through the Women’
Modern Skid Row: Denver’s homeless population is now at nearly the 10,000 mark, resulting in city adding more and more camping sites such as this, left. This type of encampment is coming this summer to Park Hill United Methodist Church, right.
s Homelessness Initiative.
Rules for the camp ask their new homeless residents to, “Be a good neighbor and treat private property, schools, children and families with respect.” Guidelines include no violence, weapons, drugs, or alcohol. Theft, fires, disruptive behavior, and trading and selling substances are forbidden. Whether any or all of these admonitions will be observed is unknown.
Today’s Hoovervilles
For most of us the magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back. Unfortunately, today in Denver many citizens can’t afford to come back.
Denver currently ranks 42nd in the nation when it comes to providing affordable housing for its low-income residents. As a result, every night, thousands of our fellow Denverites are forced to sleep on the streets without the warmth, safety, and security that so many of us take for granted.
As if harkening back to the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, these settlements have become fixtures known as encampments.
Today Denver’s homeless population is 9,619, or 16.7 homeless people per 10,000 residents, according to a new study by website Porch.com. The website says the share of the homeless population in Colorado is now the 10th highest rate among the 50 states.
