SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 45

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Bernadette M. Sanchez

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO'S ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF THE DRUG POLICY TASK FORCE IN ORDER TO COMPLETE SELECTED SECTIONS OF ITS COMPREHENSIVE STATEWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN BASED ON THE FOUR PILLAR APPROACH.

     WHEREAS, the fiftieth legislature passed Senate Memorial 18 requesting the university of New Mexico's Robert Wood Johnson foundation center for health policy to create a drug policy task force to evaluate New Mexico's approach to alleviating the negative consequences associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs; and

     WHEREAS, the drug policy task force met six times between June and November of 2011, inviting designees appointed by the New Mexico legislative council; representatives from the office of the governor, the office of the lieutenant governor, the corrections department, the department of health, the children, youth and families department, the human services department, the public education department, the legislative finance committee, the DWI grant council, the aging and long-term services department, county detention facilities, the administrative office of the courts, the department of public safety, the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative, the behavioral health planning council, the university of New Mexico, the New Mexico association of counties, the drug policy alliance and the New Mexico women's justice project; two individuals with criminal drug convictions; and two individuals in recovery from substance abuse; and

     WHEREAS, the drug policy task force utilized a four pillar approach to examine prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement in order to develop strategies for effective change in New Mexico's drug policy; and

     WHEREAS, the initial comprehensive statewide strategic plan that was developed by the task force includes a section on current approaches to drug policy, addressing the number and geography of people impacted and local and statewide assessments of services and needs; sections on prevention and harm reduction recommendations; a section on treatment recommendations; and sections on prevention and treatment in prisons and county detention centers; and

     WHEREAS, the drug policy task force was directed to compile a list of expenditures for prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement and an assessment of the effectiveness of current programs, but the task force was unable to complete the process of gathering this data and information prior to the start of the second session of the fiftieth legislature; and

     WHEREAS, the task force was directed to develop a list of evaluation measures to include the impact of drug abuse on youth, rates of drug overdose fatalities, rates of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, access to treatment, the number of incarcerated, nonviolent drug law offenders, access to alternatives to incarceration and racial disparities exacerbated by the criminal justice system, but the task force was unable to complete the process of gathering this data prior to the second session of the fiftieth legislature; and

     WHEREAS, the drug policy task force presented its findings to the behavioral health subcommittee of the interim legislative health and human services committee, the interim courts, corrections and justice committee and the legislative finance committee;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the university of New Mexico's Robert Wood Johnson foundation center for health policy be requested to continue the work of the drug policy task force in order to complete its comprehensive statewide strategic plan based on the four pillar approach; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force continue to evaluate New Mexico's approach to alleviating the negative consequences associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs and convene committees, as needed, to evaluate, analyze and make recommendations pertaining to the costs of substance use disorders and the cost offset of treatment, alternatives to incarceration for persons with these disorders and the implementation of statutes that require parity for the treatment of behavioral health disorders; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force present its final comprehensive statewide strategic plan, including conclusions and recommendations, to the interim legislative health and human services committee, the legislative finance committee and other appropriate interim legislative committees by November 2012; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the strategic plan and all of its conclusions and recommendations be made available to other interested legislative committees, executive agencies and the public through publication on the center for health policy's web site; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the Robert Wood Johnson foundation center for health policy and to each of the agencies and organizations named in this memorial as participants on the task force.

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