SANTA FE — The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has begun expanding its wastewater drug testing efforts at public high schools outside the Albuquerque area, and Artesia High School and Park Junior High School were the first to be tested in the southeast corner of the state.
The Wastewater Drug Monitoring Dashboard was established late last year in response to a public health order issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to substance misuse.
“Knowledge is power, and having more data about the presence of illicit substances in schools informs our collaborative efforts at the school, community and government levels,” said Lujan Grisham.
The NMDOH began its testing program on 24 schools in the Albuquerque area, with 88% testing positive for cocaine or its metabolite and 29% testing positive for fentanyl or its metabolite. Ninety-two percent of schools tested positive for methamphetamine or its metabolite. However, it is not possible to distinguish whether those were the result of legal drug use, such as ADHD medications, or illicit drug use like crystal meth.
As for Artesia High School’s results, the NMDOH reported the following substances as having been detected on Dec. 11, 2023:
• Hydrocodone
• Methamphetamine
• Amphetamine
• Benzoylecgonine
Amphetamine was detected in testing conducting at Park Junior High.
Metabolites are the chemical compounds that drugs break down intoafter they are consumed. The human body metabolizes some of the drugs included in this effort very quickly, making them difficult to detect in wastewater unless they are flushed directly or consumed within a short period of time. Measuring both drugs and their metabolites provides additional evidence as to whether a drug has been consumed.
The NMDOH cites wastewater testing is a science-based, proven method of gathering baselines and spotting trends in data around a variety of public health issues. Testing wastewater at schools for illicit drugs provides a clear snapshot of drug use in a campus population on the date that samples were taken, the department says.
Results do not indicate how many individuals used drugs, the quantity of drugs consumed, where drugs were consumed (i.e., on or off school property), or whether the drugs were used by students, staff or visitors. Schools where drugs were not detected could still have drug use within the campus community that were consumed on another day when testing did not occur.
“We know with the passage of the marijuana law, unfortunately, there will be drugs in our schools,” Artesia Public Schools (APS) Superintendent Darian Jaramillo said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m also struggling with the variables of the test. At times, the custodians put cleaning chemicals down the drains, so does that alter the results of the test? I don’t know.
“But I don’t negate the fact that this study just sheds some light on this matter and can contribute to raising awareness and fostering a dialogue within our community. It’s crucial to understand the extent of the problem, its root causes, and potential solutions that can help create a safer and healthier environment for our students in Artesia.”
Elsewhere in the southern and eastern portions of the state, the NMDOH has conducted testing at several Las Cruces schools, including Organ Mountain, where amphetamine, cocaine and benzo were detected; Mayfield, where amphetamine was detected; Centennial, where no drugs were detected; and Las Cruces High, where meth, amphetamine, cocaine and benzo were detected.
At Portales High School, oxycodone, meth, amphetamine, cocaine and benzo were detected, and those same drugs were detected in Floyd. Clovis High tested for benzo, amphetamine, meth, hydrocodone, oxycodone and oxymorphone and Texico for hydromorphone, meth, amphetamine and benzo.
The Wastewater Drug Monitoring Dashboard is available online at www.governor.state.nm.us/wastewater-testing.
