Health Department combating drug use in New Mexico

LAS CRUCES - Every day, far too many New Mexicans and Americans are hurt by drug use. For some it shows itself in diminished achievement in our schools. For others it results in greater risks in our roads and in our communities and to the heartache of lives cut tragically short, the consequences of substance abuse are profound. Yet, we also know that they are preventable.

October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, a presidential proclamation designated for the first time in 2011 by President Obama and in every year since.

The New Mexico Department of Health last month reported news both good and bad depending on how you look at it about drug use in the state: nearly two-thirds of New Mexico counties saw a decline in overdose deaths last year. The department’s 2015 county-level drug overdose data comes months after it announced there was 9 percent decrease in overdose fatalities statewide.

National data for 2015 is not yet available. However, New Mexico’s drug overdose death rate was the second highest in the nation in 2014. We’re still likely ranking among the highest in overdose death rates in America despite our steps forward in 2015.

New Mexico’s prescription opioid death rate declined in 2015 compared to 2014, but the heroin overdose death rate increased over that period. In addition, deaths involving methamphetamine remained at the high levels seen in 2014. Last year methamphetamine was involved in a smaller percent of deaths than heroin or prescription opioids, but it doesn’t change the fact deaths involving methamphetamine have tripled since 2006.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, stopping substance abuse before it begins can increase a person's chances of living a longer, healthier, and more productive life.

We still have a lot of work to do, but New Mexico is moving in the right direction. Gov. Susana Martinez signed two pieces of legislation earlier this year, which take important steps to prevent drug misuse and combat overdose death:

SB 263 requires practitioners to check the Prescription Monitoring Program database when prescribing opioids. The database allows prescribers and pharmacists to check the prescription history of their patients.

The governor also signed legislation which increases the availability of naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Medicaid claims for naloxone among outpatient pharmacies in New Mexico increased 83 percent between the first three months (January-March) and the second three months (April-June) of 2016.

For more information on substance abuse and prevention in New Mexico, visit the Prescription Opioid Safety and Harm Reduction sections of the NMDoH website, www.NMHealth.org.

David Morgan writes for the New Mexico Department of Health.