Colorado to get 8.3 million to combat substance abuse

The Denver Post

Colorado is one of nine states in line to get millions of dollars in federal money for substance-abuse programs, the state Department of Human Services said today.
Colorado will receive $8.3 million over the next five years for screening, prevention, intervention and referrals to treatment programs.
Colorado's share is part of a $137 million federal initiative announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in August. The grants are largely partly funded by the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010 to reform healthcare costs and programs.
The money is to fund state and local public health programs supported through the Centers for Disease Control​ and Prevention and, as in Colorado's case, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Additional SAMHSA funds supplemented money from the healthcare reform program.
"This grant is a big win for Colorado," Reggie Bicha, executive director of the state Department of Human Services, said in a media release this afternoon.
"The more successful we are at early intervention in substance abuse cases, the more we can be successful in preventing all the tragedies of serious substance abuse, including lost productivity, family relationships and ultimately, lives."
Colorado's rates of marijuana and cocaine use, alcohol consumption, and binge drinking are among the highest states in the country, according to a SAMHSA survey released in July.
State officials said at the time that Colorado was hurt by a lack of funding for prevention and treatment programs.