The Trump administration's attempts to slash federal spending has touched just about every aspect of life in the United States, but one area that’s been affected has largely been left out of the larger conversation — substance abuse disorder treatment and research, an issue especially significant to New Mexico.
For the first time in years, overdose deaths have been declining recently after reaching a peak of about 111,000 in 2022. However, advocates, like Cassandra Boness, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico, are worried about a backslide on that progress as federal grants are lost, and agencies like the the National Institutes of Health are crippled by drastic funding cuts.
“My fear is that we are going to see many more people continue to suffer from substance use, and we are going to fall behind in terms of our ability to understand the best ways to prevent and treat substance use disorders when they do occur,” she said. “That's especially relevant here in New Mexico, where we have the highest rate of alcohol related deaths in the nation”
Boness is also a researcher at the university's Center on Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addictions, working on new ways to approach and treat substance use disorders,and cutting edge techniques that reflect the future of the field.
But, she says the federal government has cut a special type of grant that is typically used to train new researchers and providers.
“This means that not only are we going to be impacted in real time by these cuts,” she said, “but the future generations of scientists and clinicians … are going to not be there at all.”
Boness said the cuts will have a widespread effect on daily life, as substance use disorders are common, with almost 17% of the population having dealt with addiction in the last year.
“So unfortunately, these funding cuts and these changes at the federal level will trickle down into our individual lives, into our family's lives, into our children's schools, and to our very local communities,” Boness said
For now, she said the best hope is for the average person to show their support by either calling their elected officials to advocate for continued funding, or by sharing their own stories to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
