The Bernalillo County Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday evening on whether to declare a state of emergency surrounding the fentanyl crisis.
While most of the rest of the country has seen decreasing overdose rates over the past few years, New Mexico’s increase from 2024 to 2025 was almost 30% and is predicted to be another 30% from 2025 to 2026.
Among counties in the state, Bernalillo has seen the most overdoses—about 6 per week—prompting county officials to declare a state of emergency
County Commission Chair Adriann Barboa, who is sponsoring the emergency declaration, says the declaration would grant emergency powers to the county manager and formally request assistance from the state.
“If this passes this evening, then we are able to engage funding that we didn't have access to within the county,” she said, “so we can right away implement that.”
She said the additional funding would be used to increase law-enforcement efforts aimed at drug-trafficking and distribution, as well as fighting the overdose crisis directly through expanded recovery, treatment and harm-reduction services — including connecting people leaving jail with treatment and other services.
“An effective response does not begin when someone overdoses,” said Barboa, “it begins before that person walks out of our jail facility. We should be planning for their safety, their healthcare, and their recovery before release. We are, but we can do more and better. We cannot wait for an ambulance to be called.”
The vote comes as commissioners are also considering a separate proposal involving the Metropolitan Detention Center's health care system, including a potential 30-million-dollar investment from county reserves. That proposal is scheduled for further consideration later this month.
The commission meeting begins at 5pm and can be viewed on BernCo’s YouTube channel and their website.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
