New Mexico County Declares Emergency Over Fentanyl Overdoses

Published October 26, 2026

On October 14, Bernalillo County in New Mexico declared a fentanyl emergency as opioid overdose deaths ran about six per week in 2025. Days later, patients at the UNM Hospital Addiction & Substance Use Disorders Clinic gathered for Recovery Resolana. This annual celebration of sobriety is itself part of treatment.

Families who need dual diagnosis treatment in The Land of Enchantment know that events like Recovery Resolana offer visible proof that care works.

The Emergency in Bernalillo County

The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners made an emergency declaration to spur a heightened inpatient or outpatient responses to fatal fentanyl overdoses. The declaration calls for expanded access to treatment and recovery services alongside public safety measures.

The gathering came one month after the New Mexico Department of Health warned about powdered fentanyl, which contributed a 28% increase in overdose deaths in the state, the highest in the country.

A Clinic Responds

The UNM ASAP Clinic in Alburquerque provides outpatient addiction treatment for opioids, methamphetamine, and alcohol.

Terrance Baker works with ASAP and also founded Recovery Resolana. Baker noted the clinic’s approach is to meet people where they are, not where clinics expect them to be.

“It’s important to celebrate recovery and support it in any way it shows up, because sometimes we feel isolated, or that we’re not doing enough. So when we have opportunities to celebrate, and actually see the smiling faces, hear the stories, see the families involved, and how much people overcome, it’s amazing.”

Mental Health & Addiction

The isolation Baker described is where co-occurring mental health conditions take hold. Dual diagnosis refers to a substance use disorder and a mental health condition occurring together, such as opioid addiction alongside depression or trauma. Treating both at the same time in the same program produces better outcomes than treating one.

That’s why programs offering dual diagnosis treatment screens for depression, anxiety and trauma at intake. Depression and anxiety can lead to shame, which keeps many people from seeking care at all. Speakers at the Resolana are ASAP patients telling their own stories, in part so others can see what is possible.

ASAP patient Chris Martinez spoke at the 2025 Recovery Resolana about reaching out for help after using drugs for 16 years.

“Just do it. It’s going to be hard and you’re going to have to quit eventually. If not, there’s only two outcomes: death or prison.”

Treatment in The Land of Enchantment & Beyond

For broader care, search mental health treatment facilities and dual diagnosis treatment programs anywhere you’re located. Our browsable directory features all levels of care and you can filter the results.

Feel free to also dial 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) to speak with an expert about mental health and addiction treatment.

Author

Terri Beth Miller, PhD

Author, Award-Winning Post-Secondary Teacher

Read Bio

Terri Beth received her PhD in English literature from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and is an educator and disability studies scholar. For more than a decade, she has written extensively in the fields of mental health and addiction recovery and fiercely advocates for the destigmatization of mental illness.

Editor

Peter Lee, PhD