The Office of National Drug Control Policy cites that in 2007, New Mexico had 485 drug arrests made by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Cocaine is easily accessible for distribution throughout the state in gram to ounce quantities for local usage. Per local law enforcement authorities, cocaine and crack cocaine distribution and consumption steadily ranks as one of New Mexico's most serious drug problems.

The availability of heroin has consistently risen in New Mexico over the last 5 years. There is also a rise in kilogram seizures and a consistent decline in the price of heroin. In New Mexico, marijuana is the most easily accessible drug. Most of the marijuana located there is grown in Mexico.

Methamphetamine can be found in multi-kilogram quantities in New Mexico. Club Drugs such as MDMA, ketamine, LSD and GHB are all accessible throughout the state, especially in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Raves are often conducted in the area, mostly in remote locations on U.S. Forest Service lands. Due to El Paso's close geographical location to Juarez, Mexico, many of these drugs are seen in New Mexico, with purchases being made over-the-counter from unethical pharmacists.

One-third of New Mexico students surveyed in 2005 admitted to either being offered, sold or given an illicit drug on their school grounds. Per the 2005-2006 NSDUH data, 20,000 New Mexico 12-17 year olds admitted to using an illegal drug in the past month.

In 2006, New Mexico had more than 3,000 marijuana plants that were seized and destroyed under the DEA's Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program. There were 34 drug courts in New Mexico that had been running for a minimum of two years as of April 2007; 4 were newly created; and 17 were being implemented.

In 2006, 24.2 percent of the defendants serving a Federal sentence were guilty of a drug offense; 60 percent of these cases were regarding marijuana. Drug trafficking and immigration cases are pressuring New Mexico's Federal judicial and corrections system. The U.S. District Court in New Mexico has the biggest caseload per judge in America; it is also the fourth busiest court in the nation.