They just have to get past Polis first.

Ninety-two of the Capitol’s 100 legislators voted for , which is now headed for an almost-certain veto by the term-limited governor. Among other things, the bill would require state employees who work as lobbyists for the governor and lieutenant governor to formally register with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and disclose their positions on bills — just as private lobbyists are required to do.

The bill was proposed as a direct reaction to Polis. Some lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly have wanted to bring the bill for years in response to the Democratic governor’s hands-on approach to the legislature, which has included frequent veto threats and direct lobbying to amend bills.

The measure would also require the legislative liaisons for state agencies to publicly disclose their positions on each bill they weigh in on.

“It was born out of frustration, a universal experience among most of us,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, an Englewood Democrat sponsoring the bill.

Polis’ efforts in the Capitol have been unusual, she and other lawmakers said. Previous governors — some of whom had split or opposing partisan control in the legislature — were not nearly as engaged in lawmaking as Polis has been. His office “has been known to pull people out of committees ahead of a vote, and there’s a lot of stuff happening 15 minutes, 20 minutes before you’re going into committee or a vote. So this is born from that experience, when you’re caught unawares,” Froelich said.

Private lobbying already holds significant sway over the legislature in the Capitol, where lobbyists often have more experience in the building than lawmakers themselves because of Colorado’s term limits. That effect is magnified with Polis, who can veto any bill he dislikes. To survive veto threats, lawmakers frequently rewrite or abandon bills altogether — .

This year alone, Polis’ opposition has prompted changes to legislation regulating 3D-printed guns and immigration enforcement. His veto threat also prompted lawmakers to kill that would’ve closed some corporate tax cuts and directed the new revenue to a tax credit for working families.

Froelich said that if Polis is known to oppose a bill, some lawmakers will shift their votes to align with him.

But that opposition is often not made public.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Fort Morgan Republican who’s also sponsoring the state lobbyists measure, said lawmakers were frustrated about being “played like a puppet.” She said the first floor — shorthand for Polis’ office, which is located on one level below the legislative chambers in the Capitol — had not always been transparent in its position on bills.

Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Jefferson County Democrat and another sponsor, said the proposal was ultimately about transparency. She recounted negotiations that helped shape bills, only for them still to meet a veto once Polis officially weighed in. She’s also faced criticism from constituents upset that a bill was watered down — but with no record revealing that changes were made at the behest of the governor.

“The governor, they talk about being coequal branches. And that’s technically true, but does anyone really think that we have as much power as the governor?” Cutter said. “… ÌęAnd I think there’s the general feeling that this governor has weighed in a lot on policy, instead of being more of an executive branch.”

She said the bill was about “wanting to balance it out a little bit.”

Though Polis’ posture inspired SB-147, he’s unlikely to ever be subject to its requirements.

First, he will leave office early next year, before the next regular legislative session begins. Lawmakers said his departure gave them a chance for the legislature to reset its relationship with the first floor — and avoid letting Polis’ approach become the precedent for future governors.

The second reason is that Polis appears certain to veto the bill.

In a statement, spokesman Eric Maruyama said that the governor would be more open to SB-147 if lawmakers “held themselves to the same standards as defined in the bill.” (Because lawmakers vote, oftentimes repeatedly, on legislation, their positions are recorded publicly.)

“Staff members in the Governor’s office are not registered lobbyists, and it would be absurd to have them treated the same way when legislators are not,” Maruyama wrote in a statement. “The Governor’s Office always works with any legislators in good faith, most commonly in an informational capacity. This is a clear attempt to limit (future governors’) ability to meaningfully participate in the legislative process, and to curb the decision-making authority of any future governor.”

Polis’ office also provided a list characterizing how state legislatures elsewhere regulate lobbyists, arguing that SB-147 would put Colorado out of step with other states. Many of the states exempt government officials from lobby requirements.

Theoretically, the bill has enough legislative support to override a veto, but the clock is quickly running down on the legislative session. Had lawmakers acted more quickly, they could’ve passed SB-147 with enough time to override a veto before the session ends Wednesday night.

But the bill’s journey through the House went slowly — and the window to override a potential Polis veto before the session ended slammed shut.

The House’s top two Democratic leaders, Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Monica Duran, were the only two House lawmakers to oppose the bill — and they also hold scheduling sway over legislation moving through their chamber.

Duran said she hadn’t factored the veto clock into her thinking and was focused on efficiently moving bills through the House.

“For me, just like right now, (it’s about) what’s coming out, what is ready — because we have six days left,” she said last week, citing the days then remaining. “So, I’m always looking at it through a different purview than that.”

She and McCluskie said they had concerns about SB-147’s impact on the Colorado Judicial Department. The measure would also have required more transparency around lobbyists for that agency.

Johnson said she’s unsure if she’ll bring the bill back next year, should Polis reject it. Froelich, who is term-limited and won’t return to the House in 2027, said some other lawmakers have discussed reviving the bill.

“Like I said, it¶¶Òőap an opportunity to turn the page and have a different relationship,” she said. “A more transparent one.”

This is a question parents face today, as changing cultural attitudes have inspired marijuana legalization in some states, and other sweeping drug reforms. School-based drug education is slowly adapting to these new norms by equipping kids not only with science-based information about various substances and their impact on the adolescent brain, but also the life skills they need to make healthy choices.

Still, parents have a vital role to play when it comes to prevention and intervention, experts say.

“Parents, along with schools, are one of the primary socialization agents for drug use prevention,” said Devin McCauley, post-doctoral scholar at , which studies adolescent behavior and develops drug prevention curricula.

While advocating that kids simply avoid drugs and alcohol may seem instinctual, research shows that this strategy doesn’t typically lead to abstinence. Today, experts like McCauley recommend a more nuanced approach to discussing drugs as a family — one that starts with fostering open lines of communication and demystifying these conversations so they don’t feel taboo.

Building a foundation of trust is essential so that youth will take what their parents say seriously and also feel comfortable confiding in them when issues arise.

“We’re never going to live in a landscape where 0% of the kids try substances, right? When parents take a ‘just say no’ approach and someone maybe tries something at a party or feels pressured, uses a vape because they feel cornered by friends, they’ve already used it — and they’re like, now what do I do? Do I hide it? There’s nothing in place for people who have experimented and don’t know what to do next,” McCauley said.

“Understanding that kids are being targeted and having empathy, work with your kid — like hey, I know this can be a really tough issue, let¶¶Òőap team up and be partners to make sure you’re safe,” he said.

Here are five practical tips to help parents navigate talking to their kids about drugs.

Start conversations early and return to them often

In today’s culture, experts say it is never too early to start talking to your kid about drugs and, in fact, it should be a topic revisited often.

Instead of working up to a single, all-encompassing conversation, consider discussing drugs in small, incremental ways, McCauley said. That will allow you to circle back without feeling like there’s pressure on the topic.

It is, however, important to make the conversations age-appropriate. For example, parents can start talking with preschoolers about cold or toothache medicines, what they do and how they should only be used when feeling unwell. As children reach middle school, parents can approach conversations with curiosity and open-mindedness in order to understand exactly what is happening in their kids’ social circles.

“I know this is common sense, but just building a strong relationship with the youth in your life — spending one-on-one time, listening without immediate judgement, knowing what children are interested in, what their activities are, who their friends are — that¶¶Òőap foundational, so that when they experience stress or peer pressure, they’re more likely going to come to you,” said Alison Long, health promotion manager at the .

As they reach their teenage years, it is OK to be specific about the substances you think they will encounter. McCauley suggests generalizing or using the news to ask open-ended questions that take judgement out of the tone. For example, “I’ve seen a lot about nicotine vapes on the news. What do you think about that? What do you notice among your friends and peers?” Those set the stage for a different conversation than asking teens, “You’re not vaping, are you?”

To avoid putting pressure on these discussions, initiate them in places and at times where you naturally connect with your kid, McCauley added. That could be on drives to and from extracurricular activities, while watching television or walking, or anywhere else you usually spend quality time.

Practice active listening

Conversations about drugs should be just that — two-way exchanges. McCauley and Long advise parents to listen more than they talk to build trust and validate their child’s experiences.

“There’s data saying teens want to be able to open up and talk about this with their parents. A lot of them aren’t quite sure how. They fear being judged, they fear consequences. So if we respond in a way that is an invitation and shows that we trust them as well, I think that can acknowledge that need on part of teens and have this be an ongoing, evolving conversation,” McCauley said.

To that end, avoid lecturing and interrogating teens, which will almost assuredly turn them off to whatever message you are trying to get across. Be curious and ask questions. That includes asking for permission to share your personal perspective and understanding of drug risks.

All this works to show adolescents that they are valued, trusted and that, as a parent, you want to work with them. Health organizations across the state even host educational opportunities for teens and trusted adults to attend together, which can further strengthen relationships as well as offer essential knowledge to both parties.

“We try to stress that knowledge is power on both parts, on the adult and the youth,” said Lyndall Young, nurse and instructor at , which curates a variety of drug education programming for youth and adults. Whether it’s learning how to use naloxone, understanding the risks of opioids or getting tips on how to navigate hard conversations, “the more they know, they can go out and not only be safe for themselves, but be safe for their whole family,” Young said.

Don’t freak out if you hear something you don’t like

The whole point of building trust with your kids is to open the floor for honesty. So if your teen confides in you and you don’t like what you hear — such as they or their friends have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol — it is important to remain calm.

“If you hear something that¶¶Òőap alarming to you, take a beat, take a breath,” McCauley said. It is fair for parents to express their concerns, he added, but do it in a way that avoids shaming. Stick to personal statements such as “I am a little concerned” or “I just want you to be safe.”

Asking questions and getting feedback here is also essential to understand a young person’s motivation and the context in which this happened. Long suggested leading with an affirmation — e.g. “Thank you for sharing that with me.” — and following up with curiosity: Do you want to talk about it? Why did you do that? How did it go? Can we talk about some of the risks?

“If it makes you upset and angry, recognize that. That¶¶Òőap OK and understandable as a parent, but maybe that¶¶Òőap not the time for you to give your side. Maybe just focus on listening,” Long said.

Lean on the facts

Removing emotion and judgement from drug discussions can be difficult, but leaning on the facts will assist parents.

Resources like the offer parent brochures that outline need-to-know facts about fentanyl and how to share those with your teen. Other health leaders like the and have guidance for parents to bolster their knowledge about marijuana and frame discussions.

One of the most compelling avenues, experts say, is harping on the fact that adolescent brains aren’t done developing until age 25, so using substances can have long-lasting impacts. Note that it is also illegal to use alcohol, marijuana and nicotine until age 21, and doing so could have legal implications for a teen’s future.

McCauley noted there is a fine line between informing kids about drugs and teaching them how to use. Approach these subjects in ways that empower teens to share the information with their friends and be a leader or in a position to help when issues or questions arise among their peers.

“There’s a difference between saying, ‘When you use, slow down, wait two hours,’ versus ‘adolescents have gotten really sick because they ate three or four (cannabis) gummies in a row. They didn’t know it can take up to an hour (to take effect),’” said McCauley. “It’s worthwhile to have that information and you can try to present it in a way that¶¶Òőap not an instruction manual.”

Model the behavior you hope to see

Stressing again that parents are among the primary role models for kids as they age, Long emphasized exhibiting the behaviors you hope to see in your children. What you do is going to impact your kids more than what you say, she said. For example, if you are stressed, promote healthy coping mechanisms like taking a walk or calling a friend.

“If you’re going to have wine, maybe don’t say, ‘I’m so stressed, I’m going to have a glass of wine.’ Rather, if you are going to have a glass of wine, have it with dinner and show you can drink responsibly,” Long said.

She and McCauley also advised setting clear expectations for your kids, even brainstorming family values together to get teens to buy in. Additionally, make sure all the adults in the household are on the same page.

“One of the whole points of adolescence is to become your own person, develop your own autonomy and your own independence. If parents can respect that and empower it¶¶Òőap going to go a long way,” McCauley said.

Rightfully so, since the mural was inspired by a similar drawing she had done for a sticker contest hosted by , a youth-focused drug prevention organization. It was one of the winning designs and earned her the opportunity to adapt the sticker into a piece of public art.

“I think it inspires kids to give out their creativity and use their voices to say what they’re proud of,” Sprouse said at the mural reveal. “Balloons rise up, and if you see someone out there doing drugs, help them, be a support system for them, show them that they’re able to rise up.”

Rise Above’s art projects aim to engage youth in community initiatives that foster personal relationships and give them a sense of belonging, two factors that studies show are linked to lower rates of substance use. The nonprofit promotes to debunk the myth that teen drug use is pervasive and help young people cultivate healthy behaviors,Ìęsaid executive director Kent MacLennan.

In 2024, Rise Above Colorado kids ages 12 to 17 and found that youth who choose to abstain are the majority, not the minority.Ìę“Our focus has really been (to) change the narrative, show the data from these surveys that are legitimate that show most youth aren’t using,” MacLennan said.

Nonprofits like Rise Above Colorado and Western Colorado Area Health Education Center offer activities and events that aim to engage teens outside of classrooms and help them develop a sense of purpose. From documentary screenings and naloxone trainings to youth-built drug information resources and even mural projects, organizations seek to equip young people with science-based facts and enable them to become experts among their peer groups. Recent state-level public health campaigns, too, have focused on the facts instead of fear, in hopes of illuminating new research on substances like marijuana.

This is the final story in The Denver Post¶¶Òőap three-part series examining how drug education has evolved alongside the legalization and normalization of substances like cannabis and psychedelics. Previous stories focused on how the general public has begun warming to harm reduction ideals in light of the opioid crisis and how local schools are navigating drug education in the era of drug reform.

“We have always wanted to focus on some of the root causes and what are the things that youth are doing that make life worthwhile,” MacLennan said. “So, celebrating all of that, yet at the same time making sure that youth understand the risks, the consequences. That they understand adolescent brain development and the importance of all the years that you cannot use are formative for the brain and dramatically reduce your risk of addiction later on in life.”

Today, these organizations are also filling in for state agencies that often lack the resources to lead educational campaigns.

After becoming the first state to permit recreational marijuana sales in 2014, Colorado funded several campaigns to inform both residents and tourists about its new laws as well as the health effects of cannabis use.

However, neither the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment nor the Department of Revenue currently has funding to do the same for psychedelics, which were legalized and decriminalized in 2022.

Representatives from both publicly funded agencies declined to be interviewed for this story.

One exception is the Colorado Department of Transportation, which recently to educate folks about the effects and legality of driving under the influence of psilocybin, including those who microdose.

New campaign relies on cannabis research

Some of Colorado’s early government-led cannabis campaigns targeted teens with varying levels of success.

In one notorious flop, the Colorado Department of Law and the Governor’s Office spent $2 million on an initiative called “Don’t Be A Lab Rat.” Launched in 2014, the campaign suggested that Colorado was a testing ground for the consequences of marijuana legalization — and that teens would be the test subjects if they chose to consume. (It’s worth noting that the messaging targeted adolescents under the legal age to purchase and consume cannabis, which is 21 years old.) In addition to TV and movie theater ads, campaign organizers installed human-sized rat cages around Denver, which were promptly mocked and vandalized.

The state health department — which was not involved in “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” — later developed several youth-targeted campaigns, such as Protect What¶¶Òőap Next in 2015, which encouraged kids to set goals for their lives and then cautioned that marijuana use could get in the way of those; and Forward Together in 2020, aimed at inspiring teens to build more connected relationships. (While not specifically for teenagers, a 2015 campaign called Good To Know showed some effectiveness in educating pregnant women, parents and tourists about Colorado’s marijuana laws.)

The only state-led initiative that still exists today, however, is called . Rolled out in 2018, it is essentially a website that features guidance on how to consume and store cannabis responsibly, as well as information related to adolescent use and use during pregnancy.

In recent years, the state legislature has invested funds to support researching and educating the public about highly potent marijuana.

Lawmakers passed a bill in 2021 requiring the Colorado School of Public Health to perform a systematic review of the scientific research related to possible physical and mental health effects of high-potency cannabis concentrates, such as vape oils and dabs, and create a public health campaign based on the findings. The state allocated $5 million to the school — a partnership between the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado — to support this initiative over several years.

The result, called launched in 2024 with the goal of raising awareness about the risks of consuming high-concentration cannabis through podcasts, documentary shorts and social media content, including influencer partnerships. The campaign specifically highlights the potential health risks associated with consumption during adolescence and pregnancy, which researchers identified as the most critical periods for harm in their review of more than 650 scientific studies. (Researchers broadened their definition of “higher concentration cannabis” beyond concentrates to include flower with more than 10% THC and edibles with more than 5 milligrams of THC.)

While previous campaigns focused on helping people understand laws after legalization and risks of impaired driving, Tea on THC is the first to synthesize existing research about the potential health impacts, Greg Tung, associate professor of health policy at the Colorado School of Public Health, said by email.

“The campaign focuses on what¶¶Òőap changed versus repeating outdated messaging,” Tung said. “Our work draws attention to the fact that cannabis products of today are very different than those in years past, and we convey the distinction between these products and what they mean for people’s health.”

For example, messaging emphasizes that cannabis flower contains much more THC now than in decades past — often between 17% to 28% compared to around 3% in 1983, — while concentrates contain as much as 95% THC. The combination of higher-concentration marijuana and a high-concentration delivery method means users can access unprecedented levels of THC at unparalleled speed, the website states.

Still, the campaign’s objective is to discourage people from starting to use cannabis unless they have a valid medical reason, so the messaging leans heavily into potential risks, even though researchers found some evidence that concentrates can benefit individuals with preexisting mental health conditions. Acknowledging the risks is important since legalization has propelled the perception that marijuana is effectively harmless, which is not the case, Tung said.

talks about short-term effects like problems with memory and concentration, a risk of psychosis and acute vomiting, as well as the potential for long-term issues like cannabis use disorder, breathing problems and increased risk of mental health conditions like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.

The Tea on THC has likely been the most visible state-funded campaign with more than 56 million viewer impressions between social media, paid media, billboards, and other forms of advertising. The website now exceeds 40,000 monthly visits, the school said, and has reached 62 of Colorado’s 64 counties.

Power to the young people

Instead of relying on top-down drug prevention initiatives, some nonprofits and local health agencies are entrusting young people to lead the way.

The city of Broomfield’s , for example, takes part in an advisory coalition that helps shape health initiatives, such as drug prevention and mental health programming. The city pays middle and high schoolers for their time and expertise, and puts them at the helm of a podcast called which touches on a range of topics, including drugs.

Rise Above Colorado recruits students from across the state to be part of its Teen Action Council, which does peer drug education in a variety of ways. The council receives training on positive social norms so members can act as ambassadors within their communities and also leads digital projects that seek to disseminate critical drug information to others their age.

In 2023, for example, the council collaborated with Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office to develop a website called intended to spread awareness about opioids and reduce the risk of misuse. It details facts that teens can share with their friends, like the majority of fake pills out there are laced with fentanyl and that ingesting just 2 milligrams can be fatal. It also offers guidance on how to use naloxone and where to find resources such as free counseling. Connect Effect was produced using $750,000 from the state’s opioid settlement funds.

Additionally, in 2017, the Teen Action Council created that provides robust information about various substances, including psilocybin, fentanyl, meth, marijuana and more. Pages include a brief history of the drug, its common names, descriptions of the high, its long and short-term effects on the brain and body, and the legal consequences of possession. Each one includes links to the information sources, so that teens who find the page can use it as a resource if they are interested in learning more.

MacLennan isn’t concerned that the website contains information that could be considered positive or focused on harm reduction.

“Hopefully, youth can understand: what is the high like, why does that potentially make it addictive, and then what are the repercussions? So that ultimately they make informed decisions,” MacLennan said. “We would rather that than, ‘Oh well, I just have to say no’ — it¶¶Òőap not that black and white. We need to trust them that we’re developing skills enough so they can make good choices.”

Beyond the content, the most important part about the website is that it’s written for youth, by youth. Olli Hocker, who served on Rise Above’s 2024-25 Teen Action Council, considers it the organization’s most impactful initiative because of the service it provides.

“I know that I was looking things like that up when I was actively using,” Hocker said in a 2025 interview, proudly three years sober from using nitrous oxide. “I think it¶¶Òőap really important to have accurate and nonjudgmental information and it¶¶Òőap something that is hard to find other places.”

Lyndall Young, nurse and instructor at , echoed that peer-led initiatives are often the most successful she sees in the field.

Her organization acts as a resource hub, working to bring drug prevention and intervention to 15 communities across the Western Slope through a variety of initiatives both inside and outside of schools. Programming ranges from stocking naloxone vending kiosks and training educators to use the opioid reversal medication to facilitating classroom lectures about opioids and curating youth events, like documentary screenings and expert panels about substance use and addiction.

In Delta County, Young works with high schoolers to develop drug lessons that they then present to younger grades. The impact goes both ways, she said. Youth leaders become advocates and their message resonates profoundly with peer audiences.

“We’ve really found (younger kids) love the science behind it and they love it when it comes from a peer. So we really feel that has made a huge impact in our outreach to have those student stars,” Young said.

What exactly constitutes drug education has expanded over the last several years, Young said. While many think of classroom lectures, the work has broadened to become multifaceted and include wraparound services, such as housing, food and counseling support, that seek to address issues that often predate substance use and abuse. Young is heartened by this shift, as it personalizes services and education.

“One thing is not going to work for all the students. You have to hit it (from) different directions,” she said.

Risks of psychedelic use aren’t widely known; Colorado campaign hopes to change that

Education needed for young adults, too

Having access to science-based drug education isn’t just important for teenagers. Young adults also need to understand the perceived benefits and risks of any given substance so they can make informed choices once they turn 21, said public health expert Kristin Nash.

Nash is co-founder of the nonprofit , which is dedicated to addressing the need for accurate, nuanced and science-based information in the burgeoning psychedelics space. Last year, the organization used Colorado to test a new digital campaign called , aimed at educating Gen Z about psychoactive substances and concepts like “set and setting” that can impact a trip.

As psilocybin mushrooms have become more normalized, use has risen. In 2023, about 1.7 million Americans ages 18 to 29 reported using the drug in the past year, marking a 44% increase from 2019, according to .

Before You Trip’s goal was to encourage young adults to “pause, learn and reflect” with a mix of social media ads, Instagram influencer content and a website with drug information and harm-reduction resources. While the campaign highlighted psychedelics’ potential risks and documented harms, its tone was intentionally nonjudgmental and content did not advocate for abstinence.

“We know that young people are already making the decision to use and engage with these substances. We also know that ‘Just Say No’ approaches turn young people off to the message, and to be fair, we also know a lot of people do get benefit from these,” Nash said. “We need to arm them with the best information we have around risk, contradictions and harm reduction strategies.”

Before You Trip’s pilot campaign ran for roughly six weeks and reached 860,518 unique individuals aged 18 to 30 in the Denver, Boulder and Aspen metro areas, Nash said. Instagram content clocked 5.1 million impressions among that demographic and the Before You Trip website received about 66,000 visits. Those who saw the campaign said it was informative, engaging and helpful.

For Nash, the feedback was reassuring. For years, she has advocated that state governments adopt comprehensive education plans as they seek to legalize and decriminalize psychedelics. But so far, that hasn’t happened. To fill the gaps, the coalition plans to expand Before You Trip into a sustained public health education program and develop toolkits that cities, states and college campuses can use to support safer decision making among young adults.

Nash’s mission is a personal one. In 2020, her son Will died while under the influence of psilocybin at 21 years old. The honors his memory by supporting harm reduction efforts on college campuses, raising awareness about psychedelic safety and advocating for reality-based substance use education across the country.

“We can wish our kids wouldn’t use these all we want
 but to me, education is the front line safety net,” Nash said. “When we downplay the risk and we fail to have those important discussions, we put people at risk and we're failing at informed consent.”

This series was reported with support of the .

An expert from Denver Health led the group in discussing which specific drugs are considered opioids and how to identify the telltale signs of an overdose, like clammy or cold skin, a limp body, and lips and fingernails that look purple or blue. The teens also learned how to administer the nasal spray, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, and then put their newfound knowledge to use practicing how exactly they would do it in the event of an emergency.

It’s scary stuff, but for many teens, it’s necessary knowledge in today’s world.

Suyash Shrestha, then a senior at Stargate School in Thornton, attended the event, but it wasn’t his first training. Shrestha spent much of his high school years trying to spread awareness about the concept of harm reduction to people his age. Harm reduction provides teenagers with honest information about drugs, along with advice for those who already use them about strategies for doing so more safely.

“Harm reduction is something that not a lot of teens or youth even think about or even know exists,” Shrestha said in an interview. “It ultimately creates that safer environment for the people who do need that information or do need those resources to come forward and get them
 That¶¶Òőap why we should continue pushing for that type of curriculum or education.”

Drug education, once ubiquitous in schools through the D.A.R.E. program, has struggled to find its footing in recent decades, even as changing cultural attitudes prompted marijuana legalization in many states across the country. In Colorado, a lack of consensus about approach and the logistical challenges of implementing curriculum have led to a patchwork of strategies where local control — which leaves it up to individual districts to decide the specifics of their health curricula — is the only standard.

The Denver Post is publishing a three-part series exploring why drug education has been slow to keep pace with the legalization of drugs like cannabis and psilocybin, and the ubiquity of deadlier substances like opioids. In the wake of the “Just Say No” movement of the 1980s and ’90s and a subsequent opioid epidemic, many local educators and organizations are embracing new philosophies about how to equip kids with the tools and information they need to lead successful lives.

Experts say drug education needs to be a more holistic endeavor — one that sees educators, community leaders, parents and youth working together to address the underlying causes of drug use and support healthier outcomes. For a generation of kids who have the world’s information at their fingertips, effective education must ditch fear tactics and instead rely on factual information presented honestly and transparently, they say, so that youth can make their own informed decisions.

As a member of the Rise Above Colorado’s Teen Action Council and Northglenn’s Youth Commission, Shrestha’s passion stems from hearing personal stories of Coloradans overdosing on synthetic opioids and from wanting to help anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation. After he first learned there was a medication that could literally save lives, Shrestha thought everyone deserved to know about it, including teens and other students.

Carrying naloxone was one way Shrestha saw he could potentially make a difference, and by teaching others to do so, he hoped to inspire his peers to be part of something meaningful — so that ultimately they make fewer harmful personal choices.

From ‘Just Say No’ to ‘just say nothing’

Putting trust into the hands of school students is a stark departure from historical norms. Traditionally, Americans have relied on school-based curricula and fear-based educational campaigns that aim to scare kids straight.

Stigmatizing drug and alcohol use as a black-and-white moral issue has a long legacy in the U.S., said Steve Sussman, professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, books such as and advocated bettering oneself and society by embracing purity, resisting temptation and finding a suitable partner.

The books, which were influential at the time, depicted two life paths for young men and women: They either grow up to be honest, decent citizens or, conversely, end up becoming degenerates depending on their life choices. For example, if , they would grow up to be honorable and venerable. However, if they choose to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, they would become moral and physical wrecks.

“There was nothing in between,” Sussman said. “, you’d either go the route of becoming a good mom, or you could end up going on the road to coquetry.”

Moral judgments like these became part of the school curriculum in the late 19th century, as the temperance movement gained momentum toward its goal of total abstinence. By 1901, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union had successfully lobbied every state in the union to mandate its Scientific Temperance Instruction in schools. The curriculum — which it¶¶Òőap worth noting was criticized by scientists at the time — asserted alcohol was “a dangerous and seductive poison” and promoted total abstinence as the only solution for mental, moral and physical well-being.

Scientific Temperance Instruction waned after Prohibition ended in 1933, but fear tactics remained a hallmark of campaigns to combat drug use and abuse.

In 1936, the film “” warned parents about the dangers of marijuana, a “frightful assassin of our youth” more threatening than opium, morphine and heroin. Three decades later, in 1963, that narrative persisted when a presidential commission to warn teenagers that “although the use of a drug may be a temporary means of escape from the world about him, in the long run these drugs will destroy him and all that he aspires to.”

The most famous effort, though, is , or Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Started in 1983 as a partnership between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District, it leveraged uniformed officers lecturing classrooms about various substances they saw on the job.

The goal was to teach kids to “Just Say No” to drugs, gangs, violence and peer pressure, echoing the country’s first lady at the time, Nancy Reagan. And it caught on quickly with the adults in power.

By 1994, D.A.R.E. was the most widely used school-based prevention program, reaching an estimated 5.5 million fifth graders in more than 60% of the nation’s school districts that year alone, The program continued to grow, and by 2009, it appeared in .

Despite its popularity, though, studies showed that D.A.R.E. wasn’t effective and that program participants were just as likely to use drugs as non-participants. In some cases, it had the opposite of its intended effect.

After developing a new curriculum in the early aughts, called Take Charge of Your Life, researchers at the University of Akron in Ohio found that seventh graders and ninth graders who went through the program from 2001 to 2006 experienced by 11th grade compared to a control group, and there was no reported change in active marijuana use. One positive effect was that seventh graders who used marijuana at the time they went through the program were less likely to continue doing so by 11th grade, the study found. In response to criticism, D.A.R.E. America retooled its curriculum for elementary and middle school students, starting in 2009.

D.A.R.E. still exists today, though curricula focus more on social-emotional learning and “helping kids learn to make healthy and safe decisions for a better life,” said regional director Dennis Osborn. Core lessons no longer include information about specific drugs, he added, though there are specialized units dedicated to vaping, fentanyl/opioids and marijuana.

About 2,000 law enforcement agencies currently participate in the program compared to around 7,500 at its height, according to Frank Pegueros, CEO of D.A.R.E America.

However controversial the content, D.A.R.E. provided the infrastructure, training and standardization necessary for drug education to proliferate widely. When that structure began to be dismantled in the 2010s, though, school-based drug education faltered, effectively leaving the generation of kids that followed to navigate the waters on their own.

“We went from ‘Just Say No’ to ‘just say nothing,’” said Rhana Hashemi, a social psychology researcher at Stanford University and founder of , which helps schools implement harm reduction education programs.

At the same time, a lethal substance was gaining traction. From 1999 to 2023, approximately 806,000 people died from an opioid overdose, with a significant increase in the number of deaths attributable to illegally made fentanyl and fentanyl analogs saturating the illicit drug supply over the course of the last decade, . Overdose fatalities involving synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) increased from 3,105 in 2013 to 72,776 in 2023, accounting for 91.7% of all opioid-related deaths that year, .

The widespread tragedy galvanized parents and politicians, who realized the pervasive “just say nothing” culture wasn’t cutting it.

Making their own decisions

The reason D.A.R.E. didn’t work, Hashemi said, is because of a cognitive dissonance between the messaging and what kids saw in real life. Warnings about the negative outcomes like overdoses, “brain rot” and addiction simply didn’t resonate. That paradox persists in prevention-focused social media campaigns today, .

“It¶¶Òőap a similar thing that¶¶Òőap happening now online, where our PSAs are still stuck in an abstinence-only mindset emphasizing these very serious consequences. But those messages are coming up alongside kids having fun and glamorizing their use,” Hashemi said.

That¶¶Òőap why Hashemi and other experts advocate providing teenagers with honest information about drugs and safer use strategies, known as harm reduction. “I would define it as both a set of strategies and knowledge, but also a philosophical attitude in how we should address things,” she said. “Our goal is not net sum prevention of use, it¶¶Òőap prevention of harms.”

For example, it¶¶Òőap helpful to know that a single serving of alcohol varies depending on whether you’re drinking beer, wine or liquor. That way, if young people choose to drink, they have a better understanding of how much they’re consuming.

“Young people are going to make their own decisions,” said Marsha Rosenbaum, a sociologist and harm reduction expert. “So we need to acknowledge that even if we don’t like the decisions they’re making.”

Rosenbaum helped introduce parents to the idea of harm reduction through a series of booklets entitled “Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and Drug Education,” the first of which was released in 1999. Harm reduction was something of a taboo topic in the ‘90s, she said. And in many ways, it still is today.

Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of advocacy organization , believes that harm reduction has gone too far in normalizing substance use and abuse, and that it often sends the wrong message to America’s youth. While he supports making naloxone more accessible, other safer use initiatives, like supervised needle injection sites, do little to help drug users get treatment or work toward recovery, he said.

Conversations about beverages’ specific alcohol content, marijuana edible standard dosing and onset times, and the potentially therapeutic benefit of things like cannabidiol should be the responsibility of parents — not schools — Niforatos added.

“I understand there has to be some level of teaching in the schools, but you have to be really careful about that line because, at the end of the day, it quickly traverses over the line into teaching someone how to use instead of educating them,” he said. “I think the message needs to start with ‘do not use’ and then support that message with evidence.”

Rosenbaum and other advocates dispute that characterization. Abstinence is part of harm reduction — in fact, it¶¶Òőap the safest strategy of them all, she said. But presenting critical information about drugs in a nonjudgmental tone opens the door for trust building with kids and ultimately empowers them to make more informed choices, supporters say.

In a sign that public attitudes are changing, Rosenbaum turned “Safety First” into a comprehensive drug education and intervention school curriculum in 2017. It was subsequently acquired and revised by Stanford University’s REACH Lab in 2023, and Ìęfor free. With lessons about cannabis, hallucinogens, e-cigarettes, opioids and more, public health experts hope Safety First can help set a new standard for evidence-based classroom instruction. The second lesson in the curriculum provides an introduction to harm reduction.

More than 629 schools across at least 46 states have used the curriculum, including schools within 15 Colorado districts, said Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, director of the REACH Lab. She estimates Safety First has reached more than 50,000 students, though it may be more than that since the curriculum is available for free online.

In broader efforts to prevent opioid deaths, naloxone has become widely available nationwide at hospitals, schools and even vending machines without a prescription. In Colorado, social media campaigns encourage young adults to by carrying the overdose reversal medication and testing their drugs for fentanyl.

Hashemi is encouraged by this shift, but she believes harm reduction needs to expand both beyond opioids and beyond the classroom. She hopes momentum continues and drug education addresses other prominent issues teens are dealing with, such as nicotine addiction and bad trips from psychedelics. She also wants to see social media campaigns, public service announcements and other digital campaigns reach kids online, where they already spend a lot of time. (A 2024 study suggests to explore.)

“When you expose the kids themselves to harm reduction education, they run with it,” Hashemi added. “But if we do not use fentanyl as a Trojan horse to do harm reduction around all drugs, this moment is going to sort of pass us, and we’re not going to be giving kids the comprehensive education that they’ve always deserved.”

This series was reported with support of the .

As these drugs have become more culturally acceptable and legally accessible, schools have had to rethink how they approach talking about them. After all, how do you educate youth about substance use and abuse when you can’t tell them to ‘just say no’?

Colorado’s “local control” approach means there’s no standardization for drug and health education, and lessons vary widely throughout the state — from Denver where there are many types of prevention education and interventions to rural districts like Gunnison, which hired its first full-time staff member to oversee health programming in 2024.

In a three-part series, The Denver Post is exploring what youth drug education looks like in Colorado’s era of drug reform. We spoke with educators, public health experts, nonprofit leaders and local teenagers about how conversations about marijuana, opioids and other substances have shifted from being confined to abstinence-only messaging to include science-based information and, in some cases, harm reduction strategies like overdose prevention. We also observed classes and projects that help youth hone leadership skills, develop peer groups where they experience a sense of belonging and cultivate healthy habits as means to prevent substance use.

Here’s what we learned.

From ‘Just Say No’ to Narcan: How drug education is changing in a modern world

Americans have long relied on school-based curricula and fear-based educational campaigns to discourage youth use. But as the opioid epidemic unfolded over the last decade-plus, harm reduction emerged as a new philosophy to keep kids safe from fatal overdoses. Read more â–ș

Colorado schools don’t have any standardized drug education, relying on patchwork programs

Because Colorado is a “local control” state when it comes to education, drug and health programming varies by district. However, the educators we spoke with agree that prevention starts with addressing students’ mental and emotional wellbeing. When talking to students about drugs, they also said transparency and trust are key to making an impact, especially for a generation with the world’s information at its fingertips. Read more â–ș

How teens are teaching each other about drugs

Schools are not the only places that teens learn about drugs today. In fact, many nonprofits in Colorado provide essential drug information and training to local youth, effectively entrusting them to act as positive influences among their peers. Read more â–ș

5 tips for how to talk to kids about drugs

Parents have a vital role to play when it comes to drug use prevention and intervention. We spoke to public health experts who offered practical tips for effectively building trust and communicating with teens about fentanyl, marijuana and more, so that they feel comfortable confiding in the adults in their lives. Read more â–ș

This series was reported with support of the .

Billed as , 5280 Recovery serves about 100 teenagers who deal with substance abuse and addiction. The school uses strategies such as coaching and group meetings to help kids get sober — and stay sober — one day at a time, said Keith Hayes, who served as the school’s director of recovery from 2020 to 2026. Many of the staff are also recovering addicts with their own past troubles and life lessons to share.

On one “Winning Wednesday” last May, Hayes stood in front of bleachers full of students and handed out chips to those marking monthly milestones of continuous sobriety. It was the last Wednesday of the 2024-25 academic year and one well worth celebrating. That year, the student body boasted an average of 440 days sober from drugs and alcohol, the highest average since the high school’s opening in 2018.

“There is no chaser with anything that we do here at 5280. It is raw, it is uncut and it is real,” Hayes said in an interview. “The ability to be vulnerable with each other without judgment, without shame, is a beautiful thing. And I think the only way that real recovery works is that we can have difficult conversations about difficult things.”

After the presentation, recovery coach Brittany Kitchens then led a group discussion to talk about the challenges of staying sober during the summer without the structure and accountability of school weeks. She asked the teenagers in the room how they would fill their free time and who they would surround themselves with in the absence of their classmates.

Educators say it¶¶Òőap critical to build trusting relationships between students and adults, and to entrust student leaders to help shape the culture in their communities. For some, this also means working closely with students who get into trouble as well, and instituting deeper forms of development than simple discipline or punishment.

But approaches remain a patchwork across Colorado since the state’s “local control” form of governance leaves it up to individual school districts to determine curriculum content. When it comes to drugs, state law only requires that some type of prevention education must be taught, though it lacks specifics about what that should look like.

That means the breadth and depth of information covered varies “dramatically” between districts, said James Hurley, comprehensive health and physical education content specialist at the Colorado Department of Education.

This is the second story in The Denver Post¶¶Òőap three-part series examining how drug education has evolved alongside changing cultural attitudes towards substances like cannabis and psychedelics, both of which are now legal in Colorado.

The Post spoke with five districts, both urban and rural, about their approaches; we also attended classes, virtually and in-person, at two. Prevention and intervention efforts within these districts are fairly new. Denver Public Schools, the state’s largest district, developed its programming in 2015 in response to marijuana legalization. Comparatively, the small Gunnison Watershed School District in southwestern Colorado hired its first student wellness coordinator in 2024 to oversee health programming and partnerships.

Normalizing sobriety

Educators said nicotine, cannabis and alcohol are the most common intoxicants they see and hear about among school-age kids, though awareness about opioids and psychedelics is growing.

In 2023, 20.5% of high school students reported they currently drink alcohol, according to the latest data available from the , issued every two years by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The survey found 12.8% of high schoolers use marijuana, 8.7% vape nicotine and 3.1% smoke cigarettes.

Additionally, 3.5% of respondents said they take prescription pain medicine not prescribed to them or differently than prescribed. (The 2025 Healthy Kids Colorado survey results are expected to be published in June.)

Some of those statistics mark a notable decrease from the prior survey issued in 2021, when 23.6% of high school-aged kids reported drinking alcohol, and 16.1% reported vaping. The percentage of students who reported abusing pain medication also dropped, from 5.9% in 2021. Marijuana and cigarette use remained flat.

Despite concerns that underage marijuana use would skyrocket after legalization in 2014, rates largely remained stable before decreasing significantly in recent years. In 2019, the use rate among high schoolers was 20.6%,compared to 21.2% in 2015, according to the survey.

The 2023 survey added a new question asking high school-aged kids if they had ever used psychedelics, and 3.8% reported that they had.

The data underscores that most local teenagers are not using drugs and alcohol — even though they often overestimate the number of their peers who are. For example, 42.8% said they thought a majority of their peers binge drank — defined as four or more alcoholic drinks in one night — compared to just 12.1% who reported having done so in the previous 30 days, according to the 2023 survey.

“We need to normalize sobriety,” Hayes said. “We need to normalize that it¶¶Òőap OK to be comfortable in my own skin, I don’t need a social lubricant.”

A focus on trust and transparency

When talking to students about drugs, Colorado educators said transparency and trust are key to making an impact, especially for a generation with the world’s information at its fingertips.

During his tenure at 5280 Recovery High School, Hayes sought to create a judgment-free zone so kids felt comfortable being honest with their recovery coaches.

“Let’s stop telling people drugs and alcohol are bad because that’s not true. Because if they were so bad, would anybody be out here doing them?” Hayes said. “So we tell kids, ‘We love drugs, we know they’re phenomenal. We love alcohol. But if I truly work in an active program of recovery, that can be even more phenomenal.’ And that¶¶Òőap the messaging. Kids dig that.”

In more traditional high school settings, the tone is typically more tempered. But educators still aim to create an environment where trust and honesty are reciprocal with their students. Having trusted adults to confide in is one critical factor that ultimately supports youth emotional and physical well-being, experts said, and well-being is inextricably linked to substance use and abuse.

At Ridgway Secondary School, where enrollment in grades six through 12 totals just 150 pupils, Shawnn Row has a unique opportunity to build a rapport with students and their families. In addition to being a health teacher, Row serves as the athletic director, an English teacher and outdoor education coordinator, so he sees the same kids in numerous capacities for many years.

As the ninth graders filed into health class on a chilly February morning last year, it was clear they were immediately engaged. For one, Row was speaking their language. The first slide on the day’s presentation about marijuana featured a meme with a picture of a young boy smiling, his head flanked by text. “4/20? Puff puff pass? I’d rather pass today’s math quiz, thanks.”

As the kids repeated the punchline and giggled, Row stood at the front of the room with a welcoming smile. “Today we’re gonna talk about weed,” he said.

Health is a year-round class here, though the subject matter varies with the semester. Students receive sex education in the fall and drug education in the spring. Row began creating all the lessons himself several years ago after finding that out-of-the-box curricula didn’t resonate. His presentations combine scientific information about the adolescent brain, the known benefits and risks of various substances, and personal anecdotes from his own life.

Row appreciates that his school leaders believe drug education should be a continuous conversation, instead of something that¶¶Òőap relegated to a specific timeframe or initiative. That also gives him the flexibility to address what specifically interests students.

“Usually at the beginning of eighth grade (and) ninth grade health, I say, ‘Hey, write down topics you’re curious about or you’ve seen somewhere or you’ve heard about,’ and I’ll try to integrate them into the lessons I have planned already,” Row said.

Row’s lecture about cannabis didn’t sugarcoat the fact that it is widely available in Ridgway, a town of about 1,200 residents and three recreational dispensaries near downtown. The students were well aware of that, of course. You can smell it “walking around on any given Tuesday,” one said during class.

Row broke down the differences between cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol, explaining the psychoactive effects and how those distinguish the CBD products in grocery stores from the THC products in pot shops. He also shared a study tracking youth use and later life outcomes, and a story about how Kansas police once pulled him over and searched his car because of his Colorado license plate.

After class, then-freshman Izzy Katz said she learned a lot from the presentation, but still wasn’t sure if she considered marijuana good or bad. Some drugs, like fentanyl and heroin, have very clear harms, she said. Cannabis didn’t seem similarly dangerous, but it also didn’t seem benign like Vitamin C.

“I feel like marijuana is kind of put in that grey area where people don’t know how to categorize it,” Katz said. Her sentiment exemplifies the challenge of discussing once-demonized drugs that are now being reframed in light of legalization.

“I really hammer away on (the fact that) the teenage brain is not fully developed, and no matter what substance it is you put in your body, it¶¶Òőap going to have a bigger effect on you than it will on a 25-, 30- or 35-year-old,” Row said in an interview. “That is kind of the challenge with the legalization of weed and now psychedelics is, if adults don’t see it as harmful, the kids are less likely going to, as well.”Ìę

Row navigated this again when he tackled psychedelics during an April health class. While substances like psilocybin and LSD aren’t as popular as vaping, cannabis or alcohol, Row believes kids have been exposed to them enough through movies, social media and the news to warrant a discussion. And he’s probably right.

The freshmen were noticeably excited the morning they arrived and saw a presentation titled “psychedelics/hallucinogens.” After discussing the role of the brain’s thalamus and how psychedelics suppress its ability to filter all the sensory experiences of the world, one student suggested that this may be a good thing in moderation. After all, The Beatles “took LSD all the time and they had fire music during that timeframe,” she said. Another said she has read that microdosing ‘shrooms can help with anxiety.

Yes, psychedelics could boost creativity in some cases, and yes, research has shown they can be beneficial in therapy, Row responded. But the effects are not all just fractals and rainbows.

“If our thalamus wasn’t working, we would be in sensory overload all the time, and when people do acid, do mushrooms, usually once they wear off, they are completely depleted,” Row told the class. It can take a day or more to recover from a single 8- to 12-hour trip, he added.

Youth leaders cultivate culture

Three hundred miles away, substance prevention specialist Leah Raffa is tasked with disseminating drug education to the 89,000-plus Denver Public Schools students. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. Instead, Raffa and her colleagues in the Exceptional Student Services sector, which addresses mental health and student well-being, curate a menu of prevention resources and give each school autonomy over the best ways to serve their unique student populations.

Offerings include curricula that focus specifically on vaping, cannabis, prescription drugs and opioids, as well as programming designed to help students cope with stress and create meaningful connections with peers and adults at their schools. Where intervention is needed, DPS will deploy school social workers and psychologists to work directly with individual kids.

Perhaps one of the more interesting ways the district seeks to address whole child well-being is through a program called . The program, which resurfaces throughout elementary, middle and high school, teaches kids to identify and draw upon their personal strengths as a means for creating healthy habits and lifestyles.

At the high school level, Sources of Strength is an extracurricular activity intended to cultivate a group of peer leaders who effectively act as positive influences in their schools. At Denver South High School, the group includes about 10 students, freshmen through seniors, who work with onsite social workers on initiatives that amplify inspiring stories and build community within the student body.

While this program doesn’t directly educate kids about drugs, it works as a prevention mechanism by empowering students to shape their school’s culture and build a peer support network for those who might be struggling, Raffa said.

Rose Negler, who graduated from Denver South last spring, spent several years participating in Sources of Strength and said the most impactful projects were often some of the smallest. For one initiative, students wrote down the name of a positive friend on a slip of paper and then collectively linked them into paper chains that decorated the hallways. The skills she learned also benefited her theater class once when a student went missing. Negler was able to talk to other students who were stressed and help diffuse the situation.

“A lot of my Sources skills came in handy there because I knew what to do in that kind of crisis and I was able to handle it,” she said.

At 5280 Recovery High School, the students even sponsor one another. “We can talk to the kids ‘til we’re blue in the face about what we did to get sober, but it hits different when it’s a 16-year-old who has your same experiences and got their way out of that hole,” Hayes said.

Whole child solutions

In some districts, the most significant evolution has come in how educators react and intervene when students are caught using. In the Montrose County School District on Colorado’s Western Slope, strategies revolve around identifying environmental or circumstantial factors, such as food insecurity, that may be causing students’ drug use and connecting them with community organizations to help remedy those, said Megan Farley, the district¶¶Òőap manager of student health and safety.

“What we find is (a student) might be using nicotine or something, but that¶¶Òőap the tip of what¶¶Òőap actually happening,” Farley said. “We go in with a whole person, whole family approach. Like if it¶¶Òőap food that you need from the food bank, we hook you up with deliveries from the food bank.”

The district began shifting its approach in 2018, in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and injured 17 others. A decade ago, Montrose had no school social workers in a district serving roughly 6,000 students. Today, Farley manages a team of up to 20 nurses, therapists, social workers, behavior coaches and school resource officers to support students’ needs.

The district also maintains partnerships with local organizations, like Hilltop Community Resources, so that young people can be connected to specific groups or specialists they may need for support. All someone within the district has to do is express concern about an individual kid and Farley’s team will jump into action.

This ethos applies if a student gets in trouble for something other than drugs, too, said district spokesperson Matt Jenkins.Ìę“A child who is in crisis is not going to go away. We’re not going to expel our way out of that problem. We have to find an intervention and find the solutions in concert with that family to turn the corner.”

Most of the educators who spoke to The Post said they were reevaluating discipline methods in hopes of finding long-lasting solutions. Instead of pushing kids away with punishments like suspension, these educators want to bring the students closer.

Here, again, is where trust comes into play, said Hayes. Given that students at 5280 Recovery High School are in recovery, relapse is a real possibility. When that happens — as it sometimes does — the staff works to comfort and support the individual, connect them with groups and assure them they are not a moral failure.

“A lot of us come into recovery with so much guilt and shame for the things that we’ve done. These kids need love — lots of love and lots of grace and lots of understanding,” Hayes said. “Being able to be there for them and supporting them and encouraging them to keep going is very important.”

This series was reported with support of the .

THORNTON — A Colorado woman whose son died from a fentanyl-laced pill he bought through social media celebrated a this week against Meta and YouTube that she said opened the door for companies to be held responsible for harms to children using their platforms.

“The truth is out, and it¶¶Òőap time that they are held accountable for the design of the platforms,” said Kimberly Osterman, whose son Max died in 2021 at age 18. “They put profits over safety.”

Flipping through photo albums Thursday at her home in Colorado, Osterman reflected on “the days before social media. The days before the infinite scrolling lured him in.” Photos of him in frames with hearts and angel’s wings dotted the shelves.

Osterman said Max arranged to meet a drug dealer he connected with on Snapchat and purchased what he thought was Percocet. The pill was laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl, and he was dead the next morning. Osterman is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit that is separate from cases decided this week.

In Los Angeles on Wednesday, both YouTube and Meta, which owns and operates platforms including Instagram and Facebook, liable for harms to children for designing their platforms to hook young users. The companies said they disagreed with the verdicts and may appeal.

And in a jury determined that Meta knowingly and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Meta said it would appeal.

Snapchat¶¶Òőap parent company, Snap Inc., in January just before the Los Angeles trial began. TikTok also agreed to settle, and details were not disclosed.

Osterman is part of Parents for Safe Online Spaces, or ParentsSOS, a group that includes parents who have lost children to online harm and advocate for more regulation. It has campaigned for the , pending federal legislation that would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent harm on platforms minors are likely to use.

She hopes to see social media companies enact strict guardrails, such as age verification technology, to prevent anyone under 18 from accessing the platforms.

“You think your kids are safe in their home, in their bedroom, but that¶¶Òőap not the way it is with the current status of social media,” she said.

Osterman knew Max used Snapchat to communicate with friends but did not realize the danger he was in. She said he loved lacrosse and wrestling and was academically brilliant.

The man who sold the pill to him, Sergio Guerra-Carrillo, was sentenced to six years in prison on two distribution charges in 2023.

Snapchat did not immediately comment Thursday when asked about Osterman’s case. The company has said previously that it uses cutting-edge technology to proactively find and shut down drug dealers’ accounts and blocks search results for drug-related terms.

It is not yet clear whether the recent verdicts against the social platforms will . But the verdicts demonstrate a growing willingness to hold major social media companies responsible and demand meaningful change. Tech watchdogs expect they will open the door for more lawsuits and regulations.

Michael John Urban, 68, was indicted on the two felony charges for his actions during a Feb. 3, 2023, procedure at an outpatient surgery center in Lone Tree, which a doctor unconnected to the case told the Douglas County grand jury amounted to “malpractice to the nth degree.”

Witnesses described a series of abnormal, concerning decisions Urban made before and during the surgery on 56-year-old Bartlett Writer, who underwent a cataract surgery with no complications the year before, according to an indictment filed in January in Douglas County District Court.

Urban had already given Writer an extra dose of anesthesia before the surgeon came into the room, an action witnesses said was unusual because medical staff normally wait to see how a patient reacts to anesthesia before administering more.

Urban also used a combination of fentanyl and Versed, which is known to cause patients to stop breathing and have low blood oxygen and requires careful monitoring, according to a 1990 study in the medical journal Anesthesiology. Writer’s anesthesiologist for his previous cataract surgery used propofol.

Eleven minutes into the surgery, Urban told the surgeon Writer was “sleepy,” that Urban needed to adjust the patient¶¶Òőap jaw because his airway was obstructed and would need to administer naloxone to reverse the anesthesia.

But Urban told the surgeon he could finish the procedure first.

Witnesses told the grand jury they did not hear any alarms from machines monitoring Writer’s blood oxygen, blood pressure and heart rate, and that Urban was known to silence the machines during other surgeries, which is not a common practice.

Urban was also playing “music bingo” with the surgeon during the procedure, which involved playing music on Urban’s phone through a wireless speaker and Urban keeping “score” on a whiteboard, according to the indictment.

By the time the surgeon finished the procedure and lifted the surgical draping, Writer’s skin was blue from lack of oxygen.

Surgical nurses then tried to check Writer’s pulse and found he didn’t have one, though Urban insisted he did have a pulse.

Urban also told the nurses not to start chest compressions or call 911, which they did against his instructions, witnesses told the grand jury.

Writer was taken by ambulance to HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, where he was pronounced dead.

In a meeting at the surgical center after the procedure, Urban told colleagues that the “patient must have held his breath,” according to the indictment.

The Douglas County Coroner’s Office found Writer died from a lack of oxygen to his brain after his heart stopped during the surgery.

Urban is set to appear in court on May 11 for an arraignment, court records show. He was released from jail on a $20,000 bail. An attorney for Urban did not respond to a request for comment.

Max Arsenault, 33, was arrested in MedellĂ­n, Colombia, on March 4 and extradited to Colorado, . As of Wednesday, the man was in custody and awaiting trial at the Arapahoe County Detention Center, .

Arapahoe County deputies responded to a medical call in the 21000 block of East Otero Parkway on May 7, 2023, . When they arrived, deputies found an unresponsive Nicholas Dorotik, 47, who died from a mixed-drug overdose at the scene, sheriff’s officials said.

Dorotik had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, including three times the amount of fentanyl that can cause a fatal overdose, according to the sheriff’s office.

Arsenault and Julia Weishaar were arrested and charged in August 2024 with manslaughter and 10 felony drug charges in Dorotik’s death, including distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute, according to Arapahoe County court records.

Weishaar took a deal and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death, a class one drug felony, in October 2025, court records show. The deal dismissed all other charges, including manslaughter, and she was sentenced to 10 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Arsenault fled the country on Jan. 17 while out on bail and failed to appear for his pre-trial readiness conference on Jan. 20, according to court records. His jury trial was scheduled to begin on Jan. 27.

As of Wednesday, a new jury trial had been scheduled for September, court records show, though additional charges may be added to Arsenault’s case. The man is now under investigation for four felony charges related to fleeing the country: two counts each of failure to appear and fugitive of justice, according to inmate records.

“This arrest sends a clear message: our agency is committed to holding those accountable in fentanyl-related deaths to protect our community from this deadly substance,” Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown .

The 56-page complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges children as young as 10 are being confined to prison-like conditions for weeks or months after judges determine they can return to the community, in violation of their constitutional rights.

Colorado officials “warehouse… children in dangerous and harmful detention facilities only because the state fails to provide them with the processes, placements and services to which they are legally entitled,” the lawsuit states.

In fiscal year 2024-2025, Colorado’s kept more than 140 youths in detention for more than 30 days after judges deemed them releasable, the complaint alleges.

Many of these young people remained in detention solely because they were waiting for the state to find them a foster placement. The majority of these kids also have disabilities and require therapeutic care, the lawsuit says.

DYS officials, in a statement Thursday night, said they could not comment on specifics outlined in the complaint due to the pending litigation.

The division said youths accused of committing crimes can only be released when the necessary court-mandated placements or services are available. Until those are fulfilled and a court authorizes their release, youths must stay in their care.

The complaint was filed on behalf of two young people — referred to only as Isaac N. and Tony S — by a group of civil rights organizations, includingÌę, the , , a national advocacy organization dedicated to children navigating the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and , a global law firm.

Isaac, a 17-year-old suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and ADHD, has been charged with juvenile delinquency offenses and is being held in a state youth detention facility, according to the lawsuit. He has not been convicted of a crime.

A judge has determined that Isaac is releasable, yet he has remained in detention for almost two additional months because the state hasn’t found him a placement, the complaint alleges.

A treatment provider who assessed Isaac found that he could benefit from a community-based placement with trauma-focused therapy.

He’s currently working on his high school diploma and hopes to pursue a trade, such as HVAC repair, the lawsuit states. He yearns to be released so he can enjoy being a regular teenager and go to the movies.

Isaac “does not understand why he is ‘stuck’ in the detention facility,” according to the complaint.

Tony, a 12-year-old with autism spectrum disorder and cognitive impairments, has remained in detention six months after a judge deemed him releasable, the lawsuit states. He also has not been convicted of a crime.

The is Tony’s legal custodian and is responsible for finding him a placement outside of detention, the complaint says. The state has failed to do so.

State officials have known for decades about this crisis but have refused to address it, the lawsuit alleges. The waitlists for community-based programs remain long. County officials say there are no local placement options, with some sending children to other states that have openings.

The problem is getting worse, the complaint contends.

In 2022-2023, the first year of public state reporting, the Division of Youth Services detained 540 releasable youths. That number increased to 693 the following year.

The most recent reports show the state detained 177 releasable youths in December 2025. More than half of all young people detained in Colorado have been deemed fit to return to the community, according to the lawsuit.

The consequences, advocates say, are severe.

“When the state locks up children after a court has said they may be released, it sends a devastating message that they are problems to be contained rather than young people deserving care, support, and a real chance to thrive,” Nancy Rosenbloom, senior litigation adviser at the ACLU’s , said in a news release. “Instead of locking up releasable kids away from their families, teachers and peers, the state must commit to programs and services that nurture young people and give every child the opportunity to succeed.”

Not only are these young people being housed unconstitutionally, advocates say, but they’re also being kept in facilities with extensive allegations of excessive force, fights and drugs.

The complaint cited several Denver Post stories from the past few years, which documented rampant allegations of excessive force by staff members at the state’s youth detention and commitment facilities, serious injuries sustained by teens while being physically restrained, illicit drugs entering secure facilities, and several allegations of staff members engaging in sexual relationships with youths in their care.

One youth in 2024 died from a fentanyl overdose at a facility in Greeley, while other young people have been hospitalized following drug use inside these facilities.

Staff, meanwhile, have been leaving the departmentÌędue to unsafe working conditions and, they say, little support from management.