opioid epidemic

More adolescents might have access to Medication Assisted Treatment, or MAT, for substance use disorder thanks to a bill that passed committee on a party line vote Friday.

Cities and counties are joining forces in hopes of making a bigger impact together than they could alone in fighting the Opioid epidemic using funds from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Top officials from Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque met on Friday to discuss the future of almost $150 million of funds meant to fight the opioid epidemic. KUNM’s Daniel Montano reports it’s one of the last few steps before lawmakers finalize the strategic plan for the funds.

The opioid crisis continues in the U.S., despite a recent decline in overdose deaths, and medically assisted treatment has proven to be one of the best ways to treat opioid use disorder. Now, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for patients to get one of these medications, buprenorphine.

Leadership at the new—and only—youth detox in the state say they will begin taking patients as young as 14 years old in the next few weeks. The facility at Serenity Mesa is just the latest in a string of accomplishment and growth for a non-profit organization that started out of one family's struggle with substances.

About 50 people from across the country met at Albuquerque’s Uptown Sheraton hotel over the weekend with one common thing uniting them: All had lost a loved one to overdose. Something else they shared — a passion to fight the opioid crisis.

As millions in opioid settlement funds come into the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, officials are seeking input on how to spend them. In the first of several meetings Tuesday, community leaders made it clear that change needs to happen fast.

Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque are seeking public input on how to spend opioid settlement funds in a series of meetings that kick off Tuesday night.

Access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction is limited in New Mexico, but particularly in rural communities. The Santa Fe Recovery Center is hoping to change that in northwest New Mexico’s McKinley County with the help of a sizable federal grant.

State prisons are required under the U.S. Constitution to provide “adequate medical care” to those they incarcerate. However, prisons in New Mexico and 16 other states do not provide inmates with medication for opioid addiction, and neither do most of its county jails. Advocates are calling on lawmakers to expand this treatment in New Mexico lockups in the upcoming legislative session.