ALBUQUERQUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) The Pueblo of Pojoaque Nation in the US state of New Mexico has enhanced law enforcement efforts to counter drug smuggling amid an opioid epidemic that has swept through the area, Councilman Jeff Montoya told Sputnik.
"One of the biggest issues right now is actually we've had this big opioid crisis that's just been coming through our area," Montoya said. "Over the last five years we've seen a big increase of opioid intake in a lot of the youth in our village and some of the other villages... We ended up increasing our police force almost triple the size that it was, and getting a lot more training in how drugs are transported."
So many deaths, he added, started trickling down to Indian country. Montoya said that about 10 percent of his own village struggled with opioids within the last couple of years and noted that recently their governor lost his brother to the crisis. As a result, actions have been taken to address the issue.
"Also through our court system we increased different penalty measures and how we can impose [penalties] on non-tribals as well," he said.
Moreover, Montoya continued, the nation has a yearlong wellness program that offers schooling to get patients off drugs and focused on a new lifestyle.
In 2018, the United States saw nearly 48,000 deaths involving opioid use, according to the Centers for Disease and Control. In September, the US Federal health agency announced that $1.9 billion had been allocated to help the states combat the opioid overdose epidemic.
The Pueblo of Pojoaque tribe is located fifteen miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico with a population of about 535 and 13,000 acres of tribal land, according to Montoya.
Montoya spoke on the sidelines of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 76th Annual Convention and Marketplace in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Established in 1944, the NCAI is the oldest and largest non-profit organization representing US native tribes and the interests of tribal governments and communities.
