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Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Statistics in New Mexico
Land of Enchantment, New Mexico is the forty seventh state of the United States. With a population of 2,009,671 and a population density of just 16 persons/ square mile, New Mexico is the 6th most sparsely populated state in the USA.
The motto of New Mexico is “Crescit Eundo”, which is a Spanish word that means “it grows as it goes”. The state was named Nuevo Mexico by a team of Spanish explorers in the 16th century who found this place accidentally while searching for gold. Rio Grande is the longest river of the state and runs along the entire length of New Mexico.
Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico and holds the honor of being the highest capital city in entire US, as it is located at a height of 7000 feet. The Palace of Governors located in Santa Fe which was built in 1609-1610 is the oldest government building in the US. Albuquerque is the largest city of New Mexico and hosts the world’s biggest hot air balloon competition on the first weekend of October. Las Vegas NM was the biggest city of this state till the beginning of the 20th century and was established much before its much more famous Nevada counterpart.
Bandera Ice caves are one of the most famous New Mexico attractions because the temperature inside the cave is never above freezing point. This 75 feet deep cave has a 20 feet thick ice floor which is believed to have been formed in 1100 BC. In some of the most isolated villages such as Chimayo, Coyote, and Truchas in New Mexico, inhabitants still use a Spanish dialect belonging to 16th century which is not spoken anywhere else in the world.
The 180 mile long Mexico and New Mexico international boundary is generally an open desert which is sparsely populated and has very few manmade or natural barriers, thus making illegal crossing extremely easy. The international boundary has three different ports of entry which are extensively being used for smuggling illegal substances into US through commercial vehicles like buses, aircrafts and Amtrak rail.
The biggest drug threat faced by New Mexico is by the transshipment of illegal substances by different Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The New Mexico legal system is one of the most overburdened judicial systems in the country, with the majority of cases dealing with illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Here are some drug addictions and alcoholism related figures from the national Drug Control Policy Report which is published every year by the White House that presents the grim picture of drug addiction and drug smuggling in the state of New Mexico:
- During 2007, more than 30,000 fully grown cannabis plants were seized by the DEA in New Mexico along with 224.1 kilograms of cocaine, 37,888 kg of marijuana, 45 kg meth, 5 kg heroin, and more than 3000 units of MDMA.
- About 39.6% of the New Mexico citizens admitted to using marijuana at least once in the last 30 days prior to the survey.
- Approximately 33.5% of the high school students in New Mexico agreed to have used or sold an illegal drug on the school premises.
- According to the report, 26% of the high school students confessed to currently using marijuana.
- In the year 2007, the Drug Enforcement Agency made 485 drug smuggling related arrests in New Mexico, while 5,775 arrests were made for substance abuse violations and more than 8400 people were arrested for drunk driving.
- In 2007, more than 350 drug induced deaths were reported in New Mexico due to drug overdose.
Illegal drugs used for substance abuse in New Mexico
Marijuana, crack cocaine, cocaine, brown and tar heroin and meth are most commonly used by drug addicts in New Mexico:
- Cocaine is being brought into New Mexico through El Paso and Juarez routes. Mexican drug dealers are involved in transshipment of cocaine which is regularly caught by the DEA team in huge quantities. Crack cocaine is also readily available in New Mexico and it being distributed freely among all the sections of the New Mexico society.
Ethnic gangs are main distributors of cocaine and crack cocaine in New Mexico. The state also has to suffer because of the many gang wars and violence caused by these drug traffickers.
- Brown and Mexican black tar heroin is commonly seized by the DEA team on the ports of entry in New Mexico. Heroin is being brought into New Mexico in secret compartments of vehicles or by concealment on people. According to the US Health Department, heroin overdose is one of the major causes of death in drug addicts.
- Methamphetamine is not only being brought in large quantities to New Mexico by drug dealers in Los Angeles, California, and Phoenix, but is also being secretly manufactured in many small labs spread across the state.
- Marijuana use is at an all time high in New Mexico, with large quantities of this drug being seized from private vehicles every year. It is but normal to seize 500 to 8000 pounds of marijuana from private, as well as commercial vehicles coming in from Mexico to the US boundary.
Besides narcotic substances, hallucinogens, prescription medications, and party drugs like ecstasy are also being commonly abuses by citizens of New Mexico.
Initiatives Started by New Mexico State Government to tackle the problem of Substance Abuse
In order to curb the problem of substance abuse and alcoholism in New Mexico, various initiatives have been started by the state and federal government. There are 5 MET deployments of the Drug Enforcement Agency across the state, which resulted in the arrest of 485 drug traffickers.
New Mexico was declared as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in 1990. A special New Mexico Drug Endangered Children Program has been launched to educate parents about the dangers their children face when they are kept in the same room where meth is being produced.
These welcoming initiatives by the government and the support provided by various substance abuse recovery centers in New Mexico will surely play a big role in making this state drug free.
Clovis NM with a population of 32,352 is a city and county seat of curry County of New Mexico. Clovis is located in eastern New Mexico and has an agricultural based economy. Clovis NM is a part of Clovis Metropolitan Statistical Area. City of Clovis was initially founded in 1906 when it was ...
The city of Bernalillo falls in Sandoval County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of 9237 people. The city is the county seat of Sandoval County and is a part of Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city has a lot of historic monuments and places to visit which are most of ...
The city of Raton is the county seat of Colfax County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of around 6465 people. The city has experienced much growth of late and the figures for its population are bound to change. The city stands just south of the Raton Pass and gets its name from the ...
The basketball town of the US, Farmington in New Mexico has a population of 42,637. Farmington is located in the San Juan County of New Mexico. Ricketts Ball Park where the Connie Mack World series is held is the main reason for the popularity of Farmington NM all across the southwestern states ...
Albuquerque with a population of 521,999 is the largest city of New Mexico. Called as the Duke City, Albuquerque NM is the county seat of Bernalillo County. The city is believed to have been named after provincial governor of Albuquerque Don Francisco Cuervo Y Valdes who held the title of Duke of ...
The city of Gallup has a population of 19979 people and falls in McKinley County in the state of New Mexico. The city was founded in 1881 as an important railway town. The city is also known fondly as the Indian Capital of the World as there is a high presence of people of Native American origin ...
The city of Grants is in the county of Cibola in the state of New Mexico. It has a population of 8871 people and it began as a railroad camp in the 1880s. The town at the time prospered greatly because of the railroad and the transport was mostly of wood and wood products. This however declined ...
The city of Artesia falls on the intersection lines between route 82 and 285. It falls in Eddy County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of around 10994 people. The city is well laid out as two interstate highways run through its main streets and the city still manages to give off ...
Rio Rancho with the population of 84,000 is the third largest city in New Mexico. Rio Rancho is the major economic hub and largest city in the Sandoval county of New Mexico, which is a part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Rio Rancho NM was initially the part of the Alameda Grant ...
The city of Aztec falls in San Juan County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of around 6927 people. The city is also the county seat of the San Juan County and is a part of the Farmington, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The world-renowned Aztec ruins are close to the city ...
The city of Socorro falls in the Socorro County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of around 8989 people. The city is the county seat of the Socorro County and it stands at an elevation of 1396 meters. The city is located in the Rio Grande Valley and was founded in as early as 1626 ...
Santa Fe, popularly known as The City Different is the fourth largest city of New Mexico and also is the capital of the state. Santa Fe NM has a population of 73,720 and is the county seat of Santa Fe County. It is the part of the New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pueblo Indians were the ...
The city of Sunland Park falls in Dona Ana County in the US state of New Mexico. The city has a population of 14453 people and is named after Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. The city is built on the foot of Mount Cristo Rey and was formerly known as Anapra. The city has about 39% of all of its ...
The city of Portales is the county seat of Roosevelt County in the state of New Mexico. The city has a population of 12215 people and is a major contributor to the economic progress of this region. It is also home to the third largest university in the entire state and has a large number of ...
The city of Espanola falls in Rio Arriba County in the state of New Mexico and some parts of it also falls in Santa Fe County. The city has a population of around 9691 residents and was incorporated in the year 1925. The city is well known to many as the first capital city of America. The city ...
The city of Belen falls in Valencia County in New Mexico and has a population of around 7325 people. The name of the city translates into Bethlehem in Spanish and is well known for being a railway hub. The city has cut down distances into the eastern and western part of the United States and ...
The City of the Crosses, Las Cruces with the population of 93,570 is the second largest city of New Mexico. Las Cruces is also the county seat of Dona Ana County. The name of the city is believed to have been derived from the Spanish word Las cruces which means the crosses. A visit to this city ...
Roswell with the population of 46,198 is the fifth largest city and county seat of Chaves County of New Mexico. New Mexico is the home to New Mexico Military Institute that was established in the city in 1891. Roswell NM is called as the Alien city because of the debris recovery of UFO which was ...
The city of Lovington falls in Lea County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of around 99975 people. The city has an estimated area of about 4.8 square kilometers, which is mostly composed of land area. As much as 22% of the population of Lovington city still falls under the poverty ...
Alamogordo, a city located in south central New Mexico is the county seat of Otero County. The city has a population of 35,757. Alamogordo NM became famous when it was used for testing the first nuclear bomb. Research suggests that Alamogordo has been inhabited since 11,000 years. This city is ...
Hobbs with a population of 30,476 is a city located in Lea County. The city has been named after the first settlers of the region James and Fannie Hobbs. Hobbs NM is located in the high plains region of New Mexico State and shares its border with Texas. Hobbs economy boomed in 1928 after oils ...
The city of Bloomfield is a part of San Juan County in the state of New Mexico and has a population of 7234 people. Highway 64 runs next to the city. Bloomfield is also known for its many historic attractions. There are many places worth seeing along this stretch and this attracts visitors from ...
Carlsbad with a population of 25,629 is a city located in Eddy county of New Mexico. Carlsbad NM is also the county seat of Eddy County and has an economy, which primarily thrives on tourism, potash and petroleum production. Carlsbad is considered to be one of the poorest cities in United States. ...
The city of Las Vegas was falls in San Miguel County in the state of New Mexico. The city has a population of 13818 people and was once two different territories of the same name. The city is today the county seat of the San Miguel County. The city was established in the year 1835 when some ...
The city of Deming falls in the county of Luna in the state of New Mexico. The city has a population of 15480 people and was founded in the year 1881. The city was incorporated in 1902 and has a strategic position on the US-Mexico border. The city was expected to become a city as big as Chicago ...
