The statistics in the table below should not really surprise anyone. New Mexico is on the front line of the drug war, sharing a long border with Mexico which smugglers routinely use to bring across truckloads of marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs. Crack cocaine is the primary drug threat in New Mexico. Marijuana, a controlled substance, is sometimes intercepted in 8,000 pound loads, so there is plenty of illegally obtained “weed” available. The international border also provides easy access to border pharmacies willing to sell prescription drugs in quantity to anyone who wants them, helping to boost an already worrisome problem in the diversion and abuse of pharmaceuticals.

As shown, New Mexico’s youngest citizens are most vulnerable, most likely to end up in a drug and alcohol treatment center at some point in their lives. The chart below indicates that younger and younger students are being exposed to marijuana as well as narcotics, in ever-higher numbers. Over 33% of New Mexico students reported being either offered, given, or sold an illegal drug on school property in 2005. Such exposure in adolescence often leads to full-blown drug or alcohol habits later on. Parents should take heed if they do not want their own child to end up in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, in New Mexico or anywhere else.

New Mexico has 120 drug and alcohol treatment centers, including 11 run by tribal organizations. Its large Native American population is well served by 32 facilities that offer programs in Native American languages. Over 100 New Mexico rehab centers offer outpatient services; 31 provide residential care. Not all provide the same programs, however. Only 10 offer opioid treatment programs, and only 13 facilities are licensed to administer buprenorphine for opiate addiction. Families seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse in New Mexico must therefore educate themselves on local and regional rehabilitation programs and facilities to discover which ones might offer the best chance for a long-term positive outcome. Some addicts require inpatient care or services, such as detoxification, not offered by all treatment centers.

Over 10,000 people passed through the doors of New Mexico drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in 2006. Some were sentenced by drug courts; others sought help on their own. Public funding of one type or another is shared by 94 of the 120 facilities surveyed, broadening general access to rehabilitation services in New Mexico. Both private nonprofit and private for-profit treatment centers offer choices to citizens faced with the difficult problem of committing themselves or a loved one to care.

Whatever the addiction, individuals should seek help as early as possible. New Mexico has seen a sharp rise in methamphetamine in the past several years, a highly addictive and difficult-to-treat opiate. Relatively cheap and easy to obtain, it can addict on the very first use. It joins a galaxy of prescription drugs, usually sleep aids and painkillers, that have driven drug-only admissions to New Mexico rehabilitation centers from 10% in 1992 to 22% in 2006. In New Mexico, the drug war is at the back door. All citizens would do well to be aware of their options if it should step inside.