In New Mexico, the Drug Policy Alliance Network (DPAN) is gearing up for its most ambitious legislative agenda in years. During the legislative session, which runs from January 16 to March 17, DPAN will be working to advance harm reduction, drug treatment, and medical marijuana legislation.

Medical marijuana is a pivotal issue for New Mexico, where more than 80% of voters support making medical marijuana available to seriously or terminally ill patients in order to reduce their pain and suffering from illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. In the last two years, medical marijuana legislation came very close to passing the legislature, only to be stalled without a full House vote. "Very ill New Mexicans have been waiting a long time--I hope 2007 will be the year for medical marijuana in New Mexico," said DPAN's Reena Szczepanski. "Legislators know the voters are supportive. In our recent House elections, the only two incumbents that were defeated were medical marijuana opponents."

DPAN will also be working on a harm reduction bill, known as the 911 Good Samaritan bill, to reduce drug overdose deaths. The most common reason people cite for not calling 911 for help when they witness an overdose is a fear of police involvement--people using drugs are afraid to be arrested for possession of illicit substances. This bill would prevent those arrests and give amnesty to people seeking medical help for a drug overdose. New Mexico has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country, so this lifesaving bill would have a significant public health impact. One person dies nearly every day in New Mexico of a drug overdose.

DPAN is also promoting a number of treatment bills. One would increase Medicaid coverage of substance abuse treatment services, and another would expand eligibility for treatment diversion so that more people arrested for nonviolent drug offenses can access drug treatment instead of being incarcerated.

A third treatment bill would fund a pilot project at the New Mexico Women's Prison. The project would treat women who have a chronic history of narcotic addiction with buprenorphine, a medication for treatment of opioid addiction. Currently, 75% of women who go to prison for the first time and have a history of heroin use will return to prison within two and a half years. Improving treatment options will give women a better chance to stay out of prison and reduce the costs to taxpayers that go along with incarceration.

These bills all represent significant strides in public health for New Mexico. “New Mexico has been a national leader in public health and harm reduction approaches to drugs. Now it’s time to take it to the next level,” said Szczepanski. For the next two months, DPAN will be in the statehouse, working to make reforms a reality.