2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 24 - Health and Safety › Article 2C - Harm Reduction › Section 24-2C-4 - Harm reduction program created; department responsibilities.

A. The department shall:
(1) establish and administer a program that shall be known as the "harm reduction program" to reduce overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use;
(2) pursuant to rules established by the department, qualify persons as harm reduction program participants, issue a document that identifies the bearer of the document as a participant and provide the bearer of the document with access to supplies, devices or services provided by the program;
(3) compile data to assist in planning and evaluating efforts to combat overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use; and
(4) make an annual report, including legislative recommendations, to the legislative health and human services committee by October 1 each year.
B. The department shall appoint an advisory committee to include representation from:
(1) the office of the attorney general;
(2) the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety;
(3) the infectious disease prevention and control bureau of the department;
(4) the director of the epidemiology and response division of the department or the director's designee;
(5) a medical officer of the public health division of the department; and
(6) other persons or representatives as chosen by the secretary of health to ensure a thorough and unbiased evaluation of the program established under the Harm Reduction Act.
C. The advisory committee shall:
(1) develop policies and procedures for evaluation of the harm reduction program;
(2) develop criteria for data collection and program evaluation; and
(3) meet as necessary to monitor and analyze data and produce a report on the harm reduction program's impact on overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use.
D. The department may contract with private providers to operate the harm reduction program.
E. The department shall promulgate rules as necessary for the administration of the Harm Reduction Act, including developing criteria for the types of supplies or devices provided pursuant to the harm reduction program and standards for distribution of those supplies or devices through that program. The criteria and standards shall be developed to provide supplies and devices in order to reduce:
(1) cases of negative health outcomes associated with drug use, such as overdoses or the spread of infectious disease; and
(2) harm by promoting reduced use of non-sterile items and improving participant engagement in harm reduction services and prevention education.
History:
Laws 1997, ch. 256, § 4; 2022, ch. 4, § 2.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2022 amendment,
effective May 18, 2022, revised the purpose of the harm reduction program from simply a needle exchange program to include reducing overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use, required the department of health to qualify participants for services and to provide participants with a document identifying them as participants of the harm reduction program, changed a member of the advisory committee from the HIV bureau to the infectious disease prevention and control bureau, revised the advisory committee's duties to include monitoring the program's activities and reporting on its impact on overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use, and required the department of health to promulgate rules for the administration of the Harm Reduction Act; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), after "establish and administer a", deleted "harm reduction", after "program", deleted "for the purpose of sterile hypodermic syringe and needle exchange" and added "that shall be known as the 'harm reduction program' to reduce overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use", added a new Paragraph A(2) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(2) and A(3) as Paragraphs A(3) and A(4), respectively, in Paragraph A(3), after "efforts to combat", deleted "the spread of blood borne diseases" and added "overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use"; in Subsection B, in the introductory paragraph, deleted "Within thirty days of the effective date of the Harm Reduction Act", in Paragraph B(3), deleted "human immunodeficiency virus sexually transmitted disease" and added "infectious disease prevention and control", in Paragraph B(4), after "epidemiology", added "and response"; in Subsection C, Paragraph C(3), after "meet as necessary to", added "monitor and", after "analyze data", deleted "and monitor", and after "harm reduction", deleted "program" and added "program's impact on overdose mortality and other negative health outcomes associated with drug use"; and added Subsection E.