The nation’s top anti-drug official visited the state’s unofficial capital of drug overdoses last week.
U.S. Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske spoke with officials with several local law enforcement agencies — including the State Police, Española Police, Santa Clara Tribal Police, Santa Fe Police, Taos Police and the FBI as well as staff from the District Attorneys Office and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales — at a meeting held April 28 at the Española Police station, State Police Sgt. Chris Valdez said.
“Basically (we talked about) ideas of different agencies working together,” Española Public Safety Chief Joe Martinez said.
Though officials said the meeting was well-attended by law enforcement officers, no public notice was given for the meeting. Martinez was unable to think of a specific reason for this, stating that it must have been an oversight.
“We would have loved to had more publicity,” he said.
The main topic of the meeting was the Valley’s drug problem. A report from state Health Department states that Rio Arriba County is first in the state for its rate for both drug- and alcohol-related deaths.
The meeting was a continuation of a summit held Feb. 25 among regional police and prosecutors. At that meeting, law enforcement officials met in the Santa Claran Hotel in Española to discuss problems facing police which included tight budgets and problems interacting with people in the community.
Few concrete plans came out of the earlier meeting and police officials interviewed for this story declined to be more specific on plans resulting from the latest meeting. Each official, however, cited a resolve among the different departments to start working together and focus more on community outreach including in the local schools. Martinez wants to invite school officials to the next summit, tentatively scheduled for this month.
Lovato said the departments are still planning a third meeting, which will be held sometime in May. The focus of the meeting will be about increasing communication between the police department and schools, Martinez said.
The drug czar, who also visited New Moon Lodge substance treatment center in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, according to his staff, was also in the region supporting a new anti-methamphetamine ad campaign targeting Native American populations in the state.
The Drug Control Policy blog states that rates of methamphetamine use among American Indians and Alaska Native populations is among the highest of any in the country.
A tribal organization held a methamphetamine-awareness summit April 28 at the Santa Claran Resort. The Circle of Life Behavioral Health program with the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos hosted students, tribal police and police officials and community leaders such as Tesuque Pueblo Governor Rick Vigil to raise awareness about meth use in tribal lands.
Students heard warnings from people like Jose VillagasCHECK SPELLING, a police chaplain with the state Corrections Department.
“You want to play? This is what’s going to happen,” he said, holding a body bag.