[In the News] New Mexico Releases Comprehensive Methamphetamine Recommendations
New Mexico has a new plan for taking on methamphetamine. A working group led by the Alliance’s New Mexico office and New Mexico’s drug czar, Herman Silva, has released comprehensive recommendations focusing on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement. The recommendations came out of a collaboration of local and state law enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Mexico Department of Health, treatment providers, harm reduction providers and academic researchers.
The recommendations, which were created to address what the group identified as the biggest gaps in current state methamphetamine policy, can be used to create a comprehensive legislative package. The key elements would include additional funding for prevention, expansion of harm reduction practices, increased treatment funding, jail diversion on the model of California’s Proposition 36, and development of safety standards for cleanup of methamphetamine labs.
The recommendations will also be useful at the grassroots level. Though they highlight the most critical issues statewide, community coalitions will be able to use them to assess how methamphetamine is impacting their local community. They can also serve as a tool for people meeting with their city council members or legislators to advocate for particular aspects of the plan.
As a follow-up to the release of the recommendations, the working group will meet again in December to prepare for the next legislative session. The session will last only 30 days, but with strong interest from the governor and people across the state, there is a good chance for positive methamphetamine-related legislation to pass. Reena Szczepanski, director of the Alliance New Mexico, said, “I think we have a really good opportunity because so many people are concerned with methamphetamine.”
Szczepanski sees in particular a strong potential for progress in the area of treatment. New Mexico has more people who need drug treatment and do not receive it than any other state. Szczepanski says, “What’s really amazing about this state is that there have been so many people who have had family members affected by methamphetamine abuse or who have struggled with these addictions themselves who are stepping forward to say, ‘We don’t need to be throwing people in jail.'”
Progress in New Mexico may also translate into progress in other states. Szczepanski will be attenting the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws conference next month, and will be sharing the recommendations document with policymakers from around the country. She expects this model to be of interest to other states because it facilitates creation of a comprehensive, coordinated policy that connects stakeholders working on different aspects of the methamphetamine issue.
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