New Mexico

New Mexico is a state with some very serious drug issues. In 2007-2008, The National Survey on Drug use and Health reported that New Mexico ranked number one in the United States for illicit drug dependence among persons age 12 and older. During this same time period, 8.71% of New Mexico residents reported using illicit drugs in the past month. The national average was 8.02%. Additionally, 3.56% of New Mexico residents reported using an illicit drug other than marijuana in the past month; the national average was 3.58%. 471 people died in New Mexico during 2007 as a direct consequence of drug use, abuse or addiction problems. This number is dramatically higher than the number of persons in New Mexico who died from motor vehicle accidents (379) and firearms (295) during the same year (2007).�' New Mexico drug-induced deaths (23.9 per 100,000 population) exceeded the national rate (12.7 per 100,000).

As a border state, New Mexico sees many drug seizures each year. The National Seizure System reported that the amount of cannabis and cocaine seized along the New Mexico portion of the Southwest Border has declined from 2006 to 2010. Additionally, border seizures for methamphetamines remain at an extremely low level. Nationwide, meth lab seizures rose 76% from 2007 to 2009. Meth lab seizures in New Mexico peaked with 188 in 2003, and then declined to 34 in 2006. The state created a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) run by the Board of Pharmacy in 2005 to oversee and control substances in Schedules II, III, and IV. Every pharmacy in New Mexico has been set up to receive patient utilization reports of controlled substances dispensed.

Residents of New Mexico are seeing an increased need for drug rehab and addiction recovery programs. Drug addiction is a problem that as it develops, destroys the user’s home life, career, social life, physical health, emotional wellbeing and robs them of their money. While attempting to end addiction problems on your own is the obvious first choice, most addicts will admit that their personal attempts at achieving lasting sobriety have failed miserably. At some point or another, desire to use overwhelms them and they relapse. It may be something as small as seeing an old drug using friend, or as major as loosing someone they care about and feeling that they have no way to handle their emotions other than to get high. What enrolling and completing an effective drug rehab program can do is help the addicted person safely get off drugs, learn valuable life skills and address their underlying issues that lead them to choose drugs in the first place. When the person completes treatment they will have resolved these underlying issues, become educated on how to handle life drug-free and ways to remain sober when the urge or compulsion to use strikes them. The many gains a person receives because of drug rehab are countless. They will regain their health, become employable again or a better employee than they were, develop better family and friend relationships built on communication and trust and eventually their finances will improve with hard work.