fentanyl

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will be holding a rapid hiring event next Saturday September 23, 2023 hoping to fill over 40 positions. This comes after the department has rallied for months for more money to hire staff and now has a new mandate to test wastewater at schools.

The drug is most commonly paired with fentanyl, and healthcare workers say overdoses related to the combination are more complicated to treat.

A newly signed law will make it legal to possess tests to show if a drug contains fentanyl, the number one killer of adults 18-45. But last year, a bill to authorize safe drug consumption sites failed to pass the legislature. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll dive into harm reduction strategies, whether they work and why they make people so uncomfortable.

On this #YNMG we’re dedicating the entire episode to one piece of legislation that is now on Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk waiting for her signature. House Bill 52 is an amendment to the Harm Reduction Act. Overdoses from Fentanyl are the top killer of young adults in New Mexico, but HB52 will give drug users a new tool that will make them a little safer – fentanyl test strips.

Pete's Place was opened more than a decade ago because in the cold Santa Fe winters, people who were drunk or high and had nowhere to go could and did freeze to death. It has likely saved many lives. But the shelter has lately become a focus of frustration for some local residents and businesses, who say more people are living on the street outside, that their behavior is antisocial and they sometimes cause damage.

From helping people who are unhoused to addressing the lack of affordable homes in New Mexico, we have a serious problem with no easy or quick solution. There are some lawmakers who are trying to help though. On the latest from #YNMG we'll discuss some of the bills that have been filed to help with housing with KUNM reporter Alice Fordham.