Deb Haaland, candidate for governor of New Mexico, attended the Walk For Our Lives fentanyl awareness event in Española on Saturday. The event was led by Alicia Pauline Vigil-Ryan, a local resident who lost her son to fentanyl poisoning in 2022. Haaland joined families affected by fentanyl addiction and pledged to address the crisis if elected.
“The rise of fentanyl in our communities is heartbreaking. It ruins lives and families. Thank you to Alicia for your strength in leading us all today. As governor, I’ll invest in addiction services, making sure families have support, and in law enforcement so they have the tools to keep our community safe and provide the help the community needs,” Haaland said.
A recent report from the New Mexico Department of Health has shown that overdose deaths are increasing sharply across Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos Counties. Fentanyl is responsible for most of these overdoses.
Haaland shared her personal experience with addiction and spoke about its impact on families and the difficulty of accessing help. While serving in Congress, she secured $9.4 million for New Mexico communities to fight the opioid crisis and expand addiction services. As Secretary of the Interior, she worked with Indian Health Services to support mental health programs at high schools serving Native children as a way to prevent youth addiction.
