A review of internal records and interviews with a dozen current and former health department staff show what expertise it possesses has long been muzzled or ignored.
Lawmakers concerned about New Mexico’s worst-in-the-nation rate of alcohol-related deaths are focused on revising how the state taxes alcohol.
A generation ago, the state's legislature set alcohol taxes at a few pennies per drink and hasn’t changed them since.
"As an Anglo reporter little versed in this science and history, I had a lot of catching up to do."
Project: Every door is the right door: Doctors can do more to treat alcohol dependence in New Mexico
Over 73,000 residents who could benefit from treatment to reduce their alcohol consumption are not getting it, more than people addicted to all other substances combined.
Project: Poisonous Myths
Stereotypes about alcohol and Native people are hiding a crisis that’s bigger than any single group.
Project: A Missing Ingredient
As violence in New Mexico spikes, state leaders overlook alcohol’s integral role.
Project: Eyes on the Road
In New Mexico’s war on DWI, the relentless focus on drunk drivers misses the bigger problem of addiction.
Project: An Emergency Hiding in Plain Sight
Drinking kills New Mexicans at a far higher rate than anywhere else in the nation, and the crisis is escalating.
Project: Resources for Reporters
Alcohol hasn’t received the attention it deserves. Here are tools to report on it, whether your beat is health, crime, business, or politics.
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