We’re Number One! (in Emergency Room Visits Due to Amphetamine Overdose) But there’s hope if our legislators provide adequate counselling resources.
Like many counties in New Mexico, Cibola County deals with lives negatively impacted by drug use and drug dependency. Unfortunately, our county is far more affected by Amphetamine use than most: with 44.9 Emergency Room visits per 100,000 people, Cibola County has four times the New Mexico average number of overdose issues, with the state average being 10.1.
Fortunately, with motivation and counseling support, there is a proven way out of drug dependency. One big challenge is the need for a person in recovery to be in a safe space, with adequate medical assistance, to safely detox from a drug. After dealing with withdrawal issues, someone may focus on learning how to maintain sobriety. We don’t have a facility with inpatient detoxification available.
Many people will not have available a living environment conducive to avoiding places and people where one’s drug of choice is available. In this case, a shortterm residential program is helpful during the time one is learning about the addiction process, and planning for long term sobriety.
One challenge is that a number of the previously available short-term residential programs available to Cibola County residents have closed. There is still an alcohol focused program at Na Nizhoni program in Gallup, but the fine 30-day program at Rehobeth Mckinley Hospital has closed. The Turquoise Lodge program focusing on medically complicated withdrawals in Albuquerque is available, but the Yucca Lodge program in Silver City is gone.
Fortunately, several legislators, led by Representative Joseph Sanchez of Albuquerque, have proposed a new, full range of outpatient and inpatient programs for San Miguel County, as San Miguel County has the number one spot for Opiate related problems in the state. It would be available to residents of other counties such as ours. It would be funded with 2.5 million dollars in Opiate Settlement funds. Ideally, with the ongoing challenges many face in Cibola County, with the fourth highest rate of alcohol related chronic disease and alcohol related death in the state, in addition to our more recent Amphetamine challenges, our Western New Mexico legislators would join to support a closer, full range program in Cibola or Mckinley county. Fortunately, another Albuquerque legislator, Pamela Herndon, has proposed a long-term program for drug rehabilitation be created in Albuquerque, so that may be available.
In any event, as we are in an emergency situation in Cibola County, hopefully our legislators, Representative Lee Alcon, and Senator Joshua Sanchez, will focus on bringing more resources to our family members, our neighbors and fellow residents of Cibola County out of drug dependency. We have a tradition of hard work in our county, and with more resources, our drug impacted folks here can work their way into a future they deserve.
If you feel these proposed programs may benefit our county and New Mexico, the legislature is meeting right now. House Bill 50 sponsored by Joseph Sanchez and Ambrose Castellano, would create a new counseling program in Las Vegas, and House Bill 36 would support a new long term residential program in Albuquerque. Legislators may be contacted by using the Roundhouse switchboard at 505-986-4300.
Information on our state’s drug use statistics is available at the New Mexico Department of Health website if one accesses the data drop down menu. Statistics used in this letter describe the 2016-2020 period, and were published by NMDOH in 2022.