Recently, I testified before the Colorado State Legislature Committee that was assigned SB18-040 – Substance Use Disorder Harm Reduction. Among other things, this bill was designed to create a supervised injection facility pilot program and provide civil and criminal immunity for the approved supervised injection facility. As you can imagine, that part of the bill generated almost all of the testimony. Continue reading “The Lifeline for Those in Need Fails: Harm Reduction and Supervised Injection Facilities Bill Dies in Committee”
Month: February 2018
Barbara Brohl’s Senate Committee Testimony on Harm Reduction and Supervised Injection Facilities
Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Committee.
My name is Barbara Brohl and I am here to testify in support of Senate Bill 18-040. I’ve often said that the measure of a government is how it treats its most vulnerable. That group includes those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. If you’ve worked, lived, or played downtown, you’ve seen them – those nameless, sometimes faceless individuals who at times blend into the background.
Some of them became addicted as a result of opioid use, mental illness, or they began using drugs in other ways. How they became addicted is not an issue for my testimony. Suffice it to say this is not only their reality but ours as well.
They are addicted, and the issue is what can be done about it. Continue reading “Barbara Brohl’s Senate Committee Testimony on Harm Reduction and Supervised Injection Facilities”
Building Bench Strength in the Enforcement Division
Building Bench Strength – Management Changes in the Enforcement Division
Although building bench strength is universally recognized as a necessity in the private sector, unfortunately, due to the way budgets are set up and funding is appropriated to state Departments, it is very hard to develop bench strength in government agencies. In the Enforcement Division, we had to be creative. And it’s a balance, right? You want to be careful with taxpayer dollars, but at the same time you want to ensure the Departments and the Divisions are taken care of. Continue reading “Building Bench Strength in the Enforcement Division”