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‘Colorado’s Quiet Killer’: Alcohol’s ever-higher toll on Colorado

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19min 55sec
Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post
Andrea Carter, left, and her daughter Ashley, 14, comfort each other at Golden Gate Canyon State Park near Black Hawk on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. The family spread the ashes of Matt Carter, Andrea’s husband and Ashley’s father, near the site. He died of liver failure at age 39 in 2018 after battling alcohol addiction.

The beer at the game, the wine after dinner, the trip to the distillery – it’s all adding up to a big problem in Colorado, which ranks sixth in the nation in alcohol-related deaths, which are up 50% from pre-pandemic levels. The reasons, and the costs, are the subject of the Denver Post series “Colorado’s Quiet Killer,” written by health reporter Meg Wingerter.