Sites across NM will serve as drop-off locations for Drug Take Back Day on Saturday

Fentanyl, said to be up to 100 times more powerful than heroin, has dominated news reports over the past several years.

But addiction experts say a drug habit can start with a garden variety doctor’s visit where pharmaceutical drugs are prescribed.

“It’s still a gateway,” said Lawrence Medina, executive director of the Rio Grande Alcoholism Treatment Program in Taos. “We’re still dealing with the pharmaceutical industry’s major contribution to this problem.”

New Mexico has the sixth-highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, according to the New Mexico Department of Health, with nearly a quarter of fatal overdoses caused by prescription opioids, sedatives and other narcotics that can be dangerous when used improperly out of a clinical setting.

In September, DOH reported a significant spike in drug overdose deaths in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Taos counties, with increases of 104%, 48% and 206%, respectively.

In an attempt to address the issue, law enforcement agencies, select grocery stores, pharmacies and other local businesses across New Mexico are accepting prescription drugs for safe and free disposal Saturday, Oct. 25.

Dozens of sites across Albuquerque and wider New Mexico will serve as drop-off sites for Drug Take Back Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or later. To find the nearest location, visit dea.gov/takebackday. Nine Albuquerque Police substations also accept prescription drugs year-round. They are listed on the city of Albuquerque website, cabq.gov/police.

Founded by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Drug Take Back Day is a coordinated nationwide effort to reduce the number of unused and potentially harmful prescription drugs, such as opioid-based painkillers, off U.S. streets.

According to dea.gov, Drug Take Back Day has collected 20 million pounds of unused or expired prescription medications to date, preventing them from fueling addiction or causing accidental overdoses.

The Children’s Safety Network reports that approximately 49 infants in the U.S. die from unintentional poisoning every year, with more than half of incidents caused by accidental ingestion of prescription opioids.

Overprescribing of opioid-based medications is widely viewed as one of the primary drivers of what became known as the opioid epidemic in the U.S., claiming the lives of an estimated 645,000 Americans between 1999 and 2021.

While street forms of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl have since eclipsed prescription opioids when it comes to fatal overdoses, Medina said prescription opioids are still a common starting point for the clients his addiction experts see.

For the last seven years, Medina has been spearheading efforts to reopen a detox facility in Taos after winning a request for proposals from Taos County. Medina said renovations to provide services in a county-owned building near Holy Cross Medical Center are now in their final stages, with a planned grand opening sometime in 2026.

“As a person in long-term recovery, I can tell you that it’s OK to ask for help,” he said. “It could be private and confidential, but you don’t have to do it alone. There is help in Taos County. I’m grateful to have 34 years of sustained being clean and sober, but it’s a lifetime process, and each individual has to find what works for them.”