New Mexico Addiction Treatment and Info

Although New Mexico has a rich history and many attractions, some people in this state are not able to enjoy everything that it has to offer. This is due to their abuse of various intoxicating substances, including but not limited to alcohol, heroin, and other opioid drugs. read on to find out more:

Addiction in New Mexico

New Mexico is widely known across the United States for its retail and lumber trade, oil drilling, dryland farming, and cattle ranches. Furthermore, it continues attracting visitors, particularly to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. According to the latest estimates from the US Census Bureau, the state had a population of around 2 million people.

To this end, it comes as a surprise to many that there are some challenges surrounding drugs and alcohol affecting some of these residents of New Mexico. In 2015, for instance, the state lost 500 lives to a drug overdose while an additional 5000 people checked into addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers.

Most of these drug problems have been expanding due to the abuse of heroin. However, there are many other substances of abuse being taken among local residents. They include methamphetamines, ecstasy, alcohol, marijuana, crack, and cocaine. Other people are also addicted to such prescription medications as codeine, valium, Percocet, Klonopin, oxycodone, Ambien, Norco, Xanax, Lortab, Vicodin, and morphine.

The New Mexico Opioid Epidemic

Heroin and prescription pain relief medications are commonly abused in New Mexico. This is also the case with synthetic opioids such as carfentanil and fentanyl. As a result, it comes as no surprise that this class of drugs has been causing various problems in the state. Consider the fact that a total of 520 people checked into an addiction treatment program in the state for abusing prescription opioid medications in 2015.

Commonly Abused Substances in New Mexico

According to reports from drug and alcohol rehab admissions, the following are the most popular substances of abuse in New Mexico:

1. Alcohol

In 2015, a total of 1815 people were enrolled in an addiction treatment program for abusing alcohol as their only drug. Another 504 people received similar treatment for taking alcohol with other secondary substances of abuse.

The Department of Human Services in New Mexico reported in 2006 that the state was losing $2.5 billion due to alcohol abuse. This was in the form of social welfare costs, costs to the criminal justice system, crashes involving motor vehicles, health care expenses, and lost productivity.

The state was also ranked in the first position for the rates of underage drinking as well as for the abuse of marijuana among residents aged 13 years and younger. By 2010, a total of 3689 people were enrolled in a drug rehab program with an alcohol use disorder. Another 1242 people received similar treatment for abusing alcohol with another secondary drug.

About 75 percent of these admissions were male while the remaining 25 percent were female. Further, Caucasians comprised 60 percent of these patients although people aged between 26 and 30 years comprised the largest demographic receiving treatment for an alcohol use disorder.

2. Heroin

In 2015 too, heroin was responsible for 444 admissions into drug rehab programs in the state. The same year, 3.5 percent of students in New Mexico high schools reported that they had abused this drug. Five years before in 2010, 778 admissions into an addiction treatment program in New Mexico were due to this drug.

3. Marijuana

Marijuana was linked to 217 admissions into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in New Mexico in 2015. Five years earlier, it was responsible for 658 such admissions. Further, New Mexico was reported to have some of the highest rates of marijuana abuse among people between the ages of 12 and 17 years.

4. Cocaine and Crack

In 2010, a total of 559 people were admitted in a professional drug rehab program for abusing cocaine or crack. The same year, it was reported that the rates of cocaine abuse among people between the ages of 12 and 17 years were among the highest across the United States.

According to recent research studies, 8.8 percent of students in high schools across the state abused cocaine. Cocaine was linked to 68 admissions into addiction treatment centers in the state in 2015.

5. Amphetamines and Methamphetamine

In 2015, amphetamine abuse was responsible for 309 admissions into a drug rehab center. Another 4.4 percent of high school students in the state reported that they had abused methamphetamine.

The state has seen an increase in the number of people admitted into a recovery program for abusing methamphetamine. By 2010, close to 700 people received these treatment services for amphetamine addiction.

6. Ecstasy

Statistics from 2015 showed that 7.5 percent of high school students in the state had abused ecstasy or MDMA.

7. Other Drugs

Other drugs were linked to close to 2000 admissions in addiction recovery programs in 2010. However, PCP and hallucinogens did not lead to as many admissions as did inhalants and sedative drugs.

Drug Related Fatalities and Injuries in New Mexico

In 2007, the state lost 471 lives as a direct result of drug abuse. The same year, 379 people died in motor car accidents while incidents involving firearms claimed another 295 lives.

The same year, New Mexico reported relatively low arrests and seizures linked to methamphetamine and even lower numbers for seizures involving cocaine and marijuana.

The previous year in 2006, New Mexico seized 34 methamphetamine labs - a decline from the 188 labs that were seized and closed by the DEA (the Drug Enforcement Administration) in 2003.

Addiction Prevention in New Mexico

New Mexico has been trying to combat the rising rates of substance abuse and addiction. It has, for instance, started the HOPE - Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education - program.

The goal of this initiative is to protect local communities from opioid abuse and addiction through re-entry programs, planning, treatment, education, prevention, and law enforcement measures.

However, there are other initiatives in place designed to decrease the rates of substance abuse and addiction in New Mexico. They include but are not limited to:

  • The New Mexico Suicide Prevention Hotline
  • The New Mexico Mental Health Association
  • The New Mexico Crisis and Access Line
  • The National Alliance of Mental Illness
  • Southwest Border High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program

Addiction Treatment in New Mexico

In 2010, New Mexico reported that a total of 10018 people were enrolled in an addiction treatment program in the state. Of this number, 32.8 percent were female while the remaining 65.8 percent were male.

In 2006, the state had a total of 120 centers offering accredited addiction treatment and rehabilitation services. 31 of these facilities were providing inpatient or residential drug rehab services while another 10 had a professional opioid addiction recovery program in place.

The admissions linked to drugs only increased from 10 percent in 1999 to 22 percent by 2005. During the same period, the rates of unmet needs for treatment of drug abuse were below national averages while these rates were higher for alcohol abuse.

Between 2007 and 2008, the state was ranked at the first position for the abuse of illicit drugs among people between the ages of 12 and 17 years. This goes to show that it had a major substance abuse problem among its teens.

Addiction starts innocently in many cases. You might get involved because a doctor prescribed certain medications to help you overcome one condition or other. Alternatively, it might be because you tried to experiment with drugs for various reasons. Irrespective of the cause, the end result is the same - substances take over every aspect of your life.

Luckily, New Mexico has many programs that can help you overcome your physical and psychological dependence and addiction. These programs offer a wide variety of treatments, including but not limited to:

i) Medical Detox

If you have developed physical dependence, you may suffer some withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings if you try to cut back on the amount of drugs that you take or completely stop using them altogether.

In such a situation, you may be tempted to start using again - which could lead to fatal outcomes, such as if you suffer a drug overdose. This is why it is recommended that you only give up drugs after checking into a professional addiction treatment center.

This way, the center will provide you with medically supervised detox services to manage your withdrawal symptoms and arising drug cravings. They will also offer you certain medications to calm all the pain and discomfort that you may be feeling until you have completely overcome your physical dependence.

ii) Inpatient Drug Rehab

After completing detox, you may be asked to go for inpatient drug rehab. This form of treatment would be ideal if you have a severe substance use disorder or have been diagnosed with other co-occurring mental health or medical disorders over and above your addiction.

Inpatient addiction treatment is one in which you will have to live at the recovery center for anywhere between 30 and 90 days - or even longer in some instances. This way, it will protect you against the external environment that may otherwise lead to a relapse.

iii) Outpatient Drug Rehab

However, you can opt for outpatient addiction treatment instead. This would be the case if your addiction is mild or relatively new and you do not have any co-occurring mental health disorders to manage.

In an outpatient program, you do not need to stay at the recovery center. Instead, you will visit the facility a few times every week for several hours each time. This will allow you to continue keeping up with your daily schedule and various obligations at work, home, or school even as you work towards your recovery goals.

Whether you choose inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment, there are some therapies and services that you may be able to benefit from in the course of overcoming your substance abuse and addiction. These services include but are not limited to:

  • 12 step and non-12 step support group meetings
  • Aftercare programming
  • Alumni services
  • Behavioral therapies
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, journaling, art therapy, and equine therapy
  • Coping techniques
  • Couples counseling
  • Dialectical behavior therapy
  • Dual diagnosis addiction treatment
  • Exercise programs
  • Family therapy
  • Gender specific therapy
  • Group therapy
  • Individual counseling
  • Life skills training
  • Medication assisted treatment
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Nutrition education
  • Relapse prevention
  • Specialized addiction treatment
  • Stress management tools
  • Substance abuse and addiction education
  • Vocational training

Getting Help

With so many substances of abuse in New Mexico, it would come as no surprise if you have or a loved one has been struggling with a substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorder in this state.

This would most likely be the case if you have every experimented with these substances or find relief from their use - such as due to the treatment and management of some medical condition that you may have been diagnosed with.

Irrespective of the causes and risk factors for your addiction, you are eventually going to need professional addiction treatment and rehabilitation services to be able to overcome this condition.

Without these services, you may not be able to continue living your life as you used to. This is because substances will take over everything that you know - including your professional and personal relationships, finances, ability to earn a living, as well as health and wellness. At some point, continued addiction could even rob you of your life.

To ensure that you do not suffer any of these outcomes, it is recommended that you enroll in an accredited addiction treatment and rehabilitation program. There are many such programs in New Mexico and they can help you overcome your addiction both in the short and in the long term.

CITATIONS

https://www.abqjournal.com/617556/nms-drug-deaths-highest-ever.html

https://www.carnevaleassociates.com/our-work/emerging-drug-trends-prevention-issue-brief.html

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm655051e1.htm

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf

https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/news-statistics/emerging-drug-trends

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234579/

https://www.shadac.org/publications/50-state-analysis-drug-overdose-trends-evolving-opioid-crisis-across-states

https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/2.0_Drug_statistics_and_Trends.pdf

https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/quicklink/NM15.htm


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