New Mexico's drug problem is widespread
Posted at: 08/12/2012 3:59 PM
By: Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - By any measure, New Mexico's drug problem is widespread.
When the Centers for Disease Control announced in November that death rates for prescription drugs had reached epidemic proportions nationally, New Mexico was at the top of the list.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that teen drug use in New Mexico - heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine - is double and triple the national average, depending on the drug.
The Department of Health estimates there are 25,000 needle-using addicts in the state.
And Department of Justice statistics show that more than half of the New Mexico inmates in state prisons and local jails are arrested for drug-related crimes.
The state's deadly love affair with drugs is fueled by price, purity and availability.
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