FUNDS TO BOOST DRUG TREATMENT

Most of Gov. Gary Johnson's drug-reform package died in the Legislature,
but one bill expected to have a major impact, at least for addicts seeking
help, passed and was signed by Johnson last week.

Senate Bill 628 provides $9.8 million in the first year of a three-year
program to expand drug-treatment services for New Mexico residents and some
male and female state prisoners.

The funding should help from 2,100 to 2,500 substance abusers receive
treatment. Under the bill, the state Health Department will receive:

* $5 million to expand or create regional substance-abuse intervention,
treatment and harm-reduction programs;

* $1.8 million to expand statewide substance-abuse prevention programs for
youths;

* $1 million to create community reintegration programs in conjunction with
the state Corrections Department for parolees with substance-abuse problems.

The Corrections Department also will get $2 million for an alternative
treatment program in a state prison and for residential treatment programs
for some female ex-convicts.

Communities In Need

The Health Department spent about $32.4 million in state and federal
funding this fiscal year on its substance-abuse prevention and treatment
programs, which serve about 10,500 people, according to state analysts.

The additional $7.8 million to the Health Department represents a 24
percent increase in substance-abuse funding.

"What a great day," Health Department Secretary Alex Valdez said Thursday
after the governor signed the treatment bill. "I think that treatment bill
is really going to have a positive impact statewide."

The Health Department will use its regional care coordination system to
distribute $5 million for expanded drug-treatment and harm-reduction
programs statewide, Valdez said. A needs assessment will help target where
the money should be spent.

Some of the funds may help expand the department's needle-exchange program
and to purchase more Narcan, an injectable antidote for heroin overdoses,
so law-enforcement officers can be trained in its use, Valdez said.

Liability protection for law-enforcement officers who administer Narcan to
help overdose victims was one of two other bills approved from Johnson's
drug-reform package. So far, the Espanola Police Department is the only
law-enforcement agency that has expressed interest in carrying Narcan
syringes and training officers on how they might save an addict's life if
they arrive before paramedics during an overdose call.

The third approved bill allows pharmacists to sell syringes to addicts
without fear of criminal prosecution.

The governor's more ambitious drug-reform bills didn't survive the
Legislature's regular session, including decriminalization of small amounts
of marijuana, approval of marijuana use for some medical conditions, and
reduced penalties for some drug offenses.

The $9.8 million drug-treatment bill represents a turnabout for Johnson,
who has vetoed $2.8 million in drug-treatment funding during his two terms
in office, according to former U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey, who sparred
with Johnson over drug reform on CNN last month.

Addicts In Prison

The treatment bill provides $1.5 million to the Corrections Department for
residential treatment for women recently released from prison who have both
substance-abuse and mental-health problems or women who want to live with
their young children in the treatment facility, said Charles A. King, the
department's director of addiction services.

"I think it's really exciting. I think we're going to do a lot of good," he
said Thursday. "The amount you invest in treatment as opposed to
incarceration, you really get a much bigger bang for your buck."

Stays in the planned women's treatment facilities, which most likely will
be located in Albuquerque, will be voluntary and last about six months
following a woman's prison sentence, King said.

The programs not only will address women's substance-abuse problems but
will help them with jobs, housing and other issues to ensure they succeed
and do not return to prison, King said.

"If we don't follow through, they are going to be back (in prison)," King
said. "People ought not be going to prison if they primarily need treatment."

Both male and female prisoners in New Mexico have more than a 60 percent
recidivism rate, meaning at least six in 10 will return to prison for new
crimes after their release, King said.

An additional $500,000 from the treatment bill will create an alternative
treatment center in one state prison where certain nonviolent prisoners and
parole violators can receive treatment.

About 60 percent of the state prison population has serious drug or alcohol
addictions, King said. He hopes the new programs will reduce recidivism as
low as 25 percent for the prisoners or parolees receiving treatment.

The Corrections Department also will partner with the Health Department to
develop a community reintegration center for male and female parolees where
they could meet with parole officers, addiction specialists and support
groups, King said. The one-stop center also could provide help with
education, housing and job searches.

Because 40 percent of the prison population is released to Bernalillo
County, the center probably will be located in Albuquerque, although other
centers could be added later in other cities if funding is available, King
said.

The Corrections Department already has an eight-bed halfway house for
female parolees in Espanola and a 46-bed treatment facility for male
parolees at Fort Stanton, where there has been more than an 80 percent
graduation rate during the first year of the program, King said.

Addicted Kids

The treatment bill did not include an additional $1 million that the
Legislative Finance Committee stated could help expand limited treatment
options for drug-abusing adolescents.

The Health Department typically has provided drug-treatment funding for
adults, while the state Children, Youth and Families Department has helped
administer Medicaid funds to aid drug-addicted youths. Health Department
Secretary Valdez said that bureaucratic division will not stop the Health
Department from providing drug treatment for youths with the new treatment
funds.

"If I've got an adolescent who is 16 years old who is sticking needles in
his arm, we better figure out how to get that kid some treatment. That's
what matters," Valdez said.

The Health Department also will help fund local youth-development programs
with the $1.8 million dedicated for youth-based drug-prevention programs,
Valdez said.

The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps in Taos has received Health Department
funding in the past for its programs, which keep kids busy during the
summer and prepare them for a future that doesn't include drugs, Valdez said.

Local Programs

While the governor's treatment bill will help expand drug treatment
statewide, his veto Friday of the capital-outlay "pork" bill killed
$500,000 in funding that would have helped Rio Arriba County buy the
now-defunct Pinon Hills treatment facility in Velarde.

Rio Arriba County has been hit hardest by the drug epidemic, blamed
primarily on black-tar heroin smuggled north from Mexico. Last year, at
least 16 people died of drug overdoses there. The county has the highest
per capita rate of drug fatalities in the state, while New Mexico has led
the nation. Rio Arriba County received $900,000 in federal funds last year
for the pending purchase of the Velarde facility, where the county plans to
offer residential substance-abuse treatment, a domestic-violence shelter
and welfare-to-work programs. The county is in negotiations to purchase the
50-bed facility and surrounding property, which could cost more than $1.5
million.

Lauren Reichelt, the county's health and human services director, said she
is worried about the veto of the $500,000 in state funding but thinks the
county will close the deal to buy the facility, even if all of the funding
isn't yet in place.

The Health Department's budget for the next fiscal year also includes about
$1 million for the third year of treatment services in northern New Mexico
by Arizona-based Amity Inc., Valdez said.

Amistad, the name of Amity's local program based in Espanola, has provided
outpatient drug counseling for residents and jail inmates in northern New
Mexico.

So will the increased funding help reduce the death toll from drugs in New
Mexico?

"It's going to make a difference. I can't tell you how much," Valdez said.
"I'm really thankful to the governor and the legislators who sponsored the
bills."