Opioid Settlement Funds Fuel Collaboration Between New Mexico Cities and Counties

Officials from across New Mexico recently gathered in Santa Fe to discuss how the state will utilize its share of opioid settlement funds to combat the ongoing opioid crisis. New Mexico is set to receive approximately $884 million over the next 15 years, with more than half of that going to local governments. In an effort to maximize the impact of these funds, cities and counties across the state are collaborating.

Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, as well as Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, have already formed partnerships to pool their settlement funds for greater effect. However, it’s not just the state’s largest cities and counties that are working together. Shauna Hartley, a social worker and leader of the Opioid Remediation Collaborative, is coordinating a coalition of seven rural counties: Catron, Cibola, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration, stating, “When you have a big problem, you don’t want to take it on alone—you want to do it with a group of counties facing the same challenges.”

The exact plans for using these funds are still under discussion, but officials are focusing on addressing the most pressing gaps in care as identified by the community. Priorities so far include increasing access to medically assisted treatments, such as Suboxone and methadone, and expanding wrap-around services to provide holistic support. Prevention efforts, such as educational campaigns, are also high on the agenda.

While earlier discussions proposed safer drug use sites as a possible solution, none of the current plans include this approach. Hartley, however, advocates for some significant changes, such as allowing pharmacies in rural areas to dispense methadone. She points out that standalone methadone clinics are often not feasible in rural areas due to low demand.

Hartley also suggests improving collaboration between prevention and treatment providers, who often work separately. She proposes creating systems for sharing data so that their efforts can be more aligned and effective in addressing the crisis.

The funding from opioid settlements is seen as a crucial opportunity to address the epidemic and provide communities with the resources they need to make a difference.

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