Athena R. Huckaby, MPH

03/25/2026

03/24/2026

Hey lawyer friends 👋⚖️

There’s an awesome training coming up and I had to share, especially because some of my favorite people are involved.

Dr. Brandon Warrick (a profesh bestie 💁‍♀️) and Donald Hume (truly one of the best colleagues to learn from) are part of this lineup, so you already know it’s going to be good.

This training gets into the reality that Substance Use Disorder is showing up in legal cases every day, whether it’s named or not.

You’ll walk away with:
• A clearer understanding of Substance Use Disorder
• Insight into how it impacts your clients and their decision-making
• Practical guidance on your ethical responsibilities

📅 Friday, April 17
🕛 Noon – 1:30 PM
🎓 1.5 CLE credits

Good people. Useful content. Worth your time.

Register here: https://cle.sbnm.org/courses/8099/webinars/92758

What Attorneys Should Know About Substance Use Disorder: Counseling Clients Affected by...

03/23/2026

People love to say buprenorphine is “just trading one drug for another.”

That tells me they haven’t learned how it actually works.

🧠 Buprenorphine helps stabilize the brain
🧠 It reduces cravings
🧠 It prevents overdose
🧠 Over time, the brain adjusts and heals

That’s treatment.

I took this training years ago (when it was the DATA 2000 waiver), and it completely changed how I understood MOUD.

This knowledge should not live only with prescribers.

Come if you are a peer support worker.
Come if you are a therapist.
Come if you run or work in sober living.
Come if you work with people with Substance Use Disorder and want to understand what actually helps.

And if you don’t believe buprenorphine works…
you should definitely come.

💻 FREE 5-hour MOUD Kick-Start Training
📅 Friday, May 15, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM – 2:45 PM
🎓 Earn CME + fulfill NM pain management credits

No cost. Real education. Better care.

🔗 nmrecovery.org/training

03/20/2026

SAVE THE DATE 🧡
Nurturing Futures Workshop
Supporting mothers, babies, and families impacted by Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

This workshop is focused on building real capacity across the maternal and birthing care continuum. Providers will learn how to strengthen services and access Opioid Settlement funding to improve outcomes.

📍 Memorial Medical Center
📅 May 1, 2026
⏰ 9 AM – 12 PM

More details coming soon.

03/20/2026

Like I keep saying, there is no such thing as a "Narcan (Naloxone) Resistant Opioids."

A minor media frenzy has been forming around cychlorphine, a novel synthetic opioid described as the “next killer drug” taking ...

03/09/2026

🍑 Some bro tried to shame me online; I was talking about a mental health medication I utilize and he was like “you might as well boof it.” Joke’s on him. Boofing is a super legitimate route of administration!

🍑 Harm Reduction Tip of the Day: Boof Safely!

For anyone unfamiliar with the term, boofing means re**al administration of a substance. It’s actually a route of administration that has been used in medicine for a long time. Suppositories, anti-nausea medications, seizure medications, and many other drugs are given this way.

Why do some people choose this route?

📌 Faster absorption than swallowing
📌 Avoids stomach irritation and nausea
📌 Often requires smaller amounts than oral use
📌 Can be an option when veins are damaged or people want to avoid injection

Harm reduction means meeting reality with information instead of judgment. People use substances in many different ways, and accurate information helps people stay safer.

🍑 Stay informed
🍑 Stay curious
🍑 Boof safe

03/06/2026

KOAT reports that “narcotics” were found inside the Torrance County Detention Center.

The substance in question was Suboxone.

Suboxone is the brand name for buprenorphine. It is an FDA-approved medication used to treat Opioid Use Disorder.

Buprenorphine reduces withdrawal.
It reduces cravings.
It reduces overdose deaths.

Calling buprenorphine “narcotics” turns an FDA-approved medication into a crime story.

About two-thirds of people in U.S. jails and prisons meet the criteria for a Substance Use Disorder.

Withdrawal does not stop when someone is incarcerated.

For decades, most correctional facilities in the United States have refused to provide medications for Opioid Use Disorder.

When treatment is withheld, people try to manage withdrawal however they can.

A black market for buprenorphine in jails did not appear by accident. It appeared because treatment was not provided.

A system that incarcerates large numbers of people with Substance Use Disorder still has a responsibility to provide treatment.

New Mexico has passed a law requiring correctional facilities to provide medications for Opioid Use Disorder and begin treatment for people who need it while they are incarcerated.

Correctional facilities must implement these programs by June 30, 2026.

Medication is treatment.
Forced withdrawal is not.

💊 Evidence-based care saves lives
🏥 Correctional healthcare is still healthcare
❤️ People with Substance Use Disorder deserve medical treatment

03/05/2026

⚠️ Medetomidine has been detected in the drug supply here in New Mexico.

Medetomidine (say it with me: Med-da-TOM-a-dine) is a sedative used in veterinary medicine and not approved for humans. It has recently been identified in fentanyl samples.

It is similar to xylazine but is more potent and longer lasting.

It can change how people respond to naloxone during an overdose, which matters if we are responding to overdoses in the community.

If medetomidine is present, a person may remain heavily sedated even after naloxone (Narcan) reverses the opioid.

🫁 Important reminder about opioid overdose:

⚠️ People experiencing an opioid overdose are dying from lack of 🫁 oxygen 🫁, not from lack of naloxone.

Naloxone reverses opioids, but 🫁 rescue breathing 🫁 is always a critical part of overdose response.

What to do if someone overdoses:

🚑 Call 911 and say the person is not breathing
🫁 Provide rescue breathing to get oxygen into the lungs
💊 Give naloxone, and continue rescue breathing for 3 minutes. Give the naloxone time to work before giving another dose.
➡️ If breathing returns but the person is still unconscious, place them in the recovery position

‼️ Naloxone still saves lives‼️
But because sedatives like medetomidine and xylazine may be involved, the person may not wake up immediately even after naloxone works.

🫁 Stay with them and support breathing until help arrives.

Carry naloxone. Learn proper overdose response. Check on people.

03/04/2026

Tdoay is International S*x Workers’ Rights Day.

My MPH concentration is in Maternal, Child, S*xual, and Reproductive Health. I started my work in harm reduction alongside s*x worker rights organizations. That foundation shaped everything I do!

S*x work is work.
Workers deserve safety.
Workers deserve healthcare.
Workers deserve labor protections.
Workers deserve freedom from violence and criminalization.

Public health data is clear. Criminalization increases violence. It increases HIV risk. It increases barriers to care. Stigma kills.

If we care about health outcomes, bodily autonomy, and evidence-based policy, then we care about s*x workers’ rights.

I ride hard for s*x workers! Always have.

*xWorkersRightsDay
*xWorkIsWork


*xualAndReproductiveHealth

02/26/2026

I was really honored to be a guest on KRWG Public Media's new podcast "You, Me & Inequity."

This episode explores health inequities in our region, and I share some of what I’ve learned through public health work and co-founding Low Barrier Grajeda-Huckaby Housing Fund.

One thing I’ve seen over and over: people navigating Substance Use Disorder (SUD) need access and coordination. They need housing and healthcare that talk to each other.

Systems gaps create inequity. We can do better.

Take a listen and let me know what you like, or what you don't!

https://www.krwg.org/2026-02-12/youmeandinequity-ep-2?fbclid=Iwb21leAQNkQljbGNrBA2Q5GV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHuBohUztTPyhPPhshQDfit7n9sh8Xad0RRNPAbz-njaqdBvrzJwtautNfbQY_aem_toMCfPnattKh9-mzuLCoTQ

02/24/2026

*cracks knuckles*