County presenter: fentanyl‑involved deaths rose 136% in 2015–2020; meth and alcohol prominent in local harms

Bernie Lieving, MSW with the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, told the Cibola County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 25 that New Mexico Department of Health data show a 136% increase in fentanyl‑involved deaths over the five‑year period 2015–2020.

Lieving said methamphetamine was the single narcotic most commonly involved in overdose deaths during that period and that alcohol remains the leading cause of illness and death in New Mexico. He described the county’s substance‑use challenges as multifactorial, citing limited access to behavioral‑health and primary‑care services, family violence and adverse childhood experiences, food insecurity, a shortage of healthcare workers and insufficient local access to methadone treatment centers.

“Anytime someone is unconscious and not breathing, paramedics will administer the Narcan just in case,” Lieving said, and added that Narcan “is harmless to anyone using it, regardless of whether they are experiencing an overdose or not.” He reported that Narcan kits were supplied to the county’s fire departments and that three boxes were provided to each sheriff’s office.

Why it matters: Lieving’s presentation frames local health and emergency‑response needs against statewide trends in overdose deaths and identifies gaps in treatment access that county leaders can consider when prioritizing public‑health investments or grant applications.

County managers and the finance office had presented a budget and finance report earlier in the meeting; Lieving’s data underscore public‑health pressures that could influence future resource requests or grant writing for behavioral‑health services and medication‑assisted treatment.

Next steps reported in the meeting: Lieving has provided Narcan to local first responders; no formal county funding action specific to the presentation was recorded in the transcript.