SENATE MEMORIAL 3

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF RAISING AWARENESS OF FENTANYL OVERDOSE DEATHS BE RECOGNIZED AND REQUESTING STATE AGENCIES TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF THOSE DEATHS IN NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is eighty to one hundred times more potent than morphine; and

     WHEREAS, fentanyl has been increasingly abused since its approval for use in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, in 2015, the United States drug enforcement administration issued a national alert regarding the dangers of fentanyl and its threat to public safety; and

     WHEREAS, since 2016, fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl have been increasingly identified as causes of drug overdose deaths; and

     WHEREAS, fentanyl is often disguised as prescription pain medication such as oxycodone and hydrocodone or is laced into heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine or 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine; and

     WHEREAS, thirty-three percent of patients show signs of addiction or dependence after using an opioid treatment for two months; and

     WHEREAS, more than fifty percent of patients on chronic pain opioid therapy for three months will still be on that treatment five years later; and

     WHEREAS, fentanyl overdose may cause hypoxia, leading to coma, permanent brain damage or death; and 

     WHEREAS, in 2019, twenty-seven percent of the fentanyl and fentanyl-related seizure samples profiled by the United States drug enforcement administration contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl; and

     WHEREAS, just two milligrams of fentanyl may result in a fatal overdose; and

     WHEREAS, because such a small amount of fentanyl can lead to death, fentanyl toxicology tests are expensive and take a long time to process; and

     WHEREAS, it can take months for an overdose to be directly linked to fentanyl; and

     WHEREAS, the United States drug enforcement administration reported that the amount of fentanyl seized in New Mexico in 2018 was enough to kill six hundred sixty million people; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl increased from thirteen percent in 2018 to twenty-one percent in 2019, claiming the lives of one hundred twenty-seven New Mexicans; and

     WHEREAS, from 2014 to 2018, it is estimated that eighty-eight percent of drug overdoses in New Mexico were unintentional; and

     WHEREAS, thirty-five percent of those overdoses were caused by prescription drugs; forty percent were caused by illicit drugs; and twenty-three percent were caused by a combination of both prescription and illicit drugs, collectively claiming the lives of two thousand five hundred fifty-eight people; and

     WHEREAS, any person in a position to assist someone experiencing an opioid-related drug overdose can obtain an opioid antagonist from a licensed prescriber; and

      WHEREAS, naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can prevent death from an opioid overdose and may require multiple doses if someone is overdosing on fentanyl; and

     WHEREAS, medication and behavioral therapies are effective treatments for opioid addiction;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the importance of raising awareness of fentanyl overdose deaths be recognized; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state agencies, including the department of health and the human services department, be requested to make recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee about methods to raise awareness of and reduce fentanyl overdose deaths in the state; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of human services and the secretary of health.

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