Attorney General’s Office provides $3 million in opioid settlement funds to maintain and prevent disruptions to naloxone access statewide

June 24, 2025 (DENVER) — Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a $3 million grant from Colorado’s opioid settlement funds to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to provide free naloxone to eligible organizations statewide, helping expand and sustain access to a medication that reverses opioid overdoses and saves lives.

“Every life lost to an opioid overdose is one too many,” Attorney General Weiser said. “This funding puts a proven tool in the hands of the people who need it most. We are using every resource available to protect communities, prevent overdoses, and support recovery.”

The one-time grant, formalized through an interagency agreement between the Colorado Department of Law and CDPHE, will be administered by CDPHE’s Overdose Prevention Unit through the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund. The program supplies naloxone at no cost to schools, harm reduction organizations, law enforcement agencies, and other groups serving individuals at risk of overdose. These organizations may use the medication directly or distribute it within their communities.

As Colorado faces federal funding cuts and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for abruptly and illegally terminating $11 billion in critical public health funds in early April, a federal court has since granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily restoring access to those funds while litigation continues. Amid this uncertainty, Attorney General Weiser is investing $3 million to expand and sustain community overdose prevention efforts. This grant will help ensure that organizations statewide can continue to provide naloxone through June 2026.

“More than 1,600 people died from overdoses last year in Colorado. While that’s still far too many people, it is encouraging to see that deaths from overdoses decreased 14% compared to the previous year. This is why Denver Health believes harm reduction strategies, such as readily available Naloxone, are so vital to helping us prevent more deaths in our community,” said Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne.

Opioid-specific data from 2024 further highlights the impact of harm reduction efforts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado experienced a 24% decrease in deaths involving opioids and a 31% decline in fatalities related to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl in 2024 compared to the previous year. State officials attribute this progress in part to the wider availability of naloxone and other public health strategies aimed at reducing overdose deaths and supporting recovery. Naloxone continues to be a cornerstone of these efforts because of its effectiveness in reversing overdoses and saving lives.

The grant comes from funds secured by Attorney General Weiser through nationwide settlements with drug manufacturers and distributors that fueled the opioid crisis. Under his leadership, Colorado is on track to receive nearly $870 million over 18 years. The state, which has received $132.6 million to date, is using these funds to support prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction strategies in every region of Colorado.

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Media Contact:
Mallory Boyce
Communications Specialist
720-508-6787 (office) | 720-219-1898 (cell)
Mallory.Boyce@coag.gov