Although the heartbreaking stoppage of New Mexico's medical marijuana bill took the spotlight in drug policy reform this winter, Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico had several legislative victories in which treatment needs triumphed over bad sentencing proposals.

Thanks in part to advocacy by DPA-NM, $650,000 was earmarked in the budget specifically for methamphetamine treatment, and there will be a $2 million expansion of substance abuse treatment for the Department of Health, much of which is likely to be allocated to methamphetamine treatment.

At the same time, DPA-NM was able to fight off a number of bad bills that would have increased sentences for people convicted of methamphetamine possession. "We were pleased," said Reena Szczepanski, director of DPA-NM. "Legislators got the message that the way to address the meth problem is by increasing treatment rather than locking people up.  Treatment saves precious state resources and is more effective than relying solely on criminal justice-based strategies."

In another example of treatment trumping incarceration, the San Juan County Community Meth Coalition, a local community group, advanced a plan to convert a recently abandoned local jail into a treatment center. The group worked with DPA-NM, and used the comprehensive methamphetamine recommendations from a coalition headed by DPA-NM and New Mexico's drug czar, to help inform their strategy.

The Co-Chair of the San Juan County Community Meth Coalition attended a public forum just before the legislative session to represent the Coalition’s ideas, and presented them to the local legislative delegation. The delegation was receptive to the idea that treatment is essential, and the group's efforts resulted in enough funding from the legislature to remodel part of the jail into a 100-bed treatment facility. The stakeholders hope to remodel the entire facility over the next few years to create a 600-bed multi-service center for substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and other county services.

Another project, this one seeking funding to bring opiate replacement therapy to the women's prison, was turned down by the legislature. However, the attention DPA-NM and its partners were able to bring to the project over the last two years generated a great deal of interest by the Department of Health and Department of Corrections, and the project is poised to go forward with funding from other sources.

Overall, the 2006 legislative session was tremendously successful for drug policy reform. Szczepanski noted, "It is truly a tragedy that severely ill people have to wait another year for access to medical marijuana, but we should not overlook the importance of making sure more people who need treatment are going to receive it. In the state with the highest percentage of people whose treatment needs go unmet, that is a victory we can all celebrate.  Our New Mexico members should call the Governor’s office and ask him not to veto the enhanced funding for substance abuse treatment and the treatment center remodeling project in San Juan County."