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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Cisneros
DATE TYPED 2-25-05
HB
SHORT TITLE Taos County Heroin Addiction Treatment
SB 849
ANALYST Collard
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
$100.0
Recurring General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Health (DOH)
Human Services Department (HSD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 849 appropriates $100 thousand from the general fund to DOH for the purpose of
providing heroin addiction treatment in Taos County, using a drug formulation of buprenorphine
and naloxone.
Significant Issues
DOH indicates buprenorphine is a Drug Enforcement Agency-approved daily oral medication
that, (when combined with naloxone) effectively blocks the action of heroin and other narcotics.
The combination of the two drugs, if misused, can provoke narcotic withdrawal. It is a safe
medication that is used in community-based narcotic treatment programs. Buprenorphine is a
less addictive drug with fewer side effects than the more widely used opioid treatment drug,
methadone.
Taos County has no methadone treatment clinics, making that well-known treatment modality
difficult to access for Taos County residents, who must travel a considerable distance to the
nearest methadone clinic in Espanola. The proposed buprenorphine and naloxone treatment can