Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico (DPANM) is working on an ambitious set of reforms this legislative session that will improve the public health and public safety of New Mexicans. Today, the Senate Rules Committee passed a Memorial that would create a “Housing First Taskforce” to address issues of homelessness in New Mexico. “People struggling with drug addiction and people coming out of jail or prison often struggle to find a safe and affordable place to live,” said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico. “We should have a system that provides supportive housing to truly help these people succeed in their treatment programs.” Senate Memorial 2, sponsored by Senator Ortiz y Pino, passed by a vote of 4 to 3 and now heads to the Senate Public Affairs Committee.

This afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee passed two bills to improve New Mexico’s criminal justice system. House Bill 270, sponsored by Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R-Sandoval County), passed the committee with no opposition. The bill directs the NM Sentencing Commission to continue investigating if and to what extent racial profiling is occurring in New Mexico communities. The bias-based policing study began in 2007 following an appropriation from the state legislature; additional funding is needed, however, to fully carry-out the study, analyze results, and offer recommendations.

A bill to create a buprenorphine treatment pilot project at the women’s prison also passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously. HB 224, sponsored by Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque) creates a two-year pilot project in the women’s prisons to treat 50 women inmates who have a history of addiction to heroin or other opiates. Both HB 270 and HB 224 now move to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

A third bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee. HB 488, sponsored by Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque), establishes a treatment instead of incarceration diversion program for people with drug possession offenses and drug-related probation and parole violations. This will give people suffering from addictions who end up in the criminal justice system a chance to receive community-based substance abuse treatment, rather than going to jail.

DPANM staff spent the past year meeting with coalitions of community members, treatment providers, families of incarcerated persons, government officials, and nonprofit agency heads to create a comprehensive agenda.

“New Mexico is already a national model of how a state can employ public health measures to address our drug problems and save lives,” said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico. “We can build upon our successes by continuing to establish policies that promote treatment, education and compassion.”

DPANM will be working on the following drug policy reforms during the 2008 New Mexico Legislative session:

• HB 488: Treatment Instead of Incarceration - This bill will divert drug possession offenders into treatment services, instead of prison or jail time. Treatment instead of incarceration for people charged with drug possession offenses or drug-related probation and parole violations will not only save New Mexico millions of dollars a year, but will also make our communities safer by helping individuals receive appropriate community-based substance abuse treatment. Of the approximately 5,600 people in New Mexico's state prison system in 2002, about 87 percent were assessed as needing substance abuse services and 70 percent as substance abusing or dependent. Drug offenders struggling with substance abuse or dependence need help, not jail.
• HB 224: Medication Assisted Therapy: Women's Prison Treatment Project - The Buprenorphine Pilot Project at NM Women's Prison Bill would provide funding for two years of focused anti-addiction medication treatment to women inmates with a chronic history of narcotic addiction who are approaching release back into the community.
• SM 2: Housing First Taskforce Memorial - In New Mexico, about 17,000 people experience homelessness over the course of a year. The Memorial establishing a Housing First Taskforce is the critical first step to help individuals struggling with drug addiction and people coming out of jail or prison access safe and affordable housing. The Housing First Taskforce will bring together state agencies, community organizations, and service providers to develop ideas, strategies, and recommendations to help people quickly access permanent supportive housing.
• HB 270: Bias-Based Policing Study - During the 2007 legislative session, the New Mexico State Legislature appropriated $50,000 to the New Mexico Sentencing Commission to begin a bias-based policing (or racial profiling) study in New Mexico. Rather than waiting for an expensive and damaging statewide lawsuit or major incident to occur in our state, New Mexico can take a proactive step by appropriating additional funding to fully investigate if bias-based policing is taking place, and develop recommendations on how to eliminate racial profiling in our communities.