According to Mental Health America’s 2025 statistical reports, Colorado ranks #41 out of 50 states for citizen access to mental health care (source link below). Further research indicates that ranking is primarily the result of lack of funding for mental health care in the state. Lawmakers can justify Colorado’s second lowest alcohol taxes in the nation, but struggle to find funding to increase access to mental health care.
I’ve often wondered if lawmaker intent is that all the Coloradans with mental health issues are supposed to just drink themselves to death since we now have twice the national average in alcohol deaths and very little access to mental health care. These types of contradictions nearly always raise more questions than answers.
Health Equity Colorado 