Spiraling downward: Drug use in Odessa on the rise

July 06--Drug use in Odessa is on the rise, with more hospital cases involving drugs, reported overdoses and a growth in drug arrests from 2012 to 2014.

"Illegal drug transactions are problem here and in every city across the country. They play a significant role in much of the violence we've seen recently," Odessa Police Department Chief Tim Burton said in a May 16 press conference following the arrests of three people in the shooting death of 22-year-old Sean Michael Lamb, which officials said "stemmed from a large quantity of drugs."

Burton referred to the city's current oil boom, saying the amount of money that is being made in the industry attracts a large segment of young men that are "statistically more prone to those kinds of behaviors."

"The economic environment means there is money," Burton said. "There is cash flow in the city of Odessa and this region is attractive for any business and that includes the drug trade."

Drug arrests made by OPD totaled 772 in 2012, 883 in 2013 and 248 so far in 2014, according to figures provided by OPD. The offense with the most drug arrests was for possession of marijuana, with 313 arrests made in 2012, 303 made in 2013 and 114 made so far in 2014.

Marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine were the most-seized drugs by OPD from January 2013 to May 2014, according to figures from the Department of Public Safety monthly reports of drugs seized.

In that timeframe, 136.21 pounds of marijuana, 14.17 pounds of cocaine, 5.84 pounds of methamphetamine and 5.2 pounds and 7.48 ounces of heroin were seized by Odessa police.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reported 2.9 kilograms of cocaine, 107 kilograms of marijuana and 8.6 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized by the agency in the Midland region in 2013. The amount of cocaine and marijuana seized by the DEA for the same region has grown this year, with 9.9 kilograms of cocaine, 190 kilograms of marijuana and 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. The DEA reported for the Odessa/Midland region, the narcotics most heavily used are crack cocaine, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and pharmaceuticals.

Federal agents arrested 16 people in connection with a multi-state methamphetamine distribution operation allegedly run by a 41-year-old Odessa man June 5.

Shawn Allen Niece, the accused ringleader, was indicted in federal court in connection with the operation that got its supply of meth from San Diego, Las Vegas and Dallas.

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy said during a June 4 press conference that the DEA and FBI began the investigation into the ring in December.

In addition to the arrests, Glaspy said more than 11 pounds of methamphetamine and $62,000 was seized.

According to a news release, if convicted of the federal offenses, those arrested could face between 10 years and life in federal prison; between five years and 40 years in federal prison; or up to 20 years in federal prison, depending on the charge.

Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson's office was involved in the investigation, and he said the involvement of many different agencies is the only way to "stem the tide" of the drug trade in Odessa.

"The local guys are definitely a tremendous asset because they know people here," Donaldson said. "We know that meth has increased in the county."

Emergency drug calls

Manuel Guerrero, the director of emergency services for Medical Center Hospital, said from November 2011 through April 2012, the hospital recorded 158 cases involving the drugs.

From November 2013 through April 2014, Guerrero said that number spiked to 383 cases.

Medical Center Hospital reported more overdoses in the past two years, according to figures provided from hospital officials. From November 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012, 134 overdoses were reported; from November 1, 2012 through April 30, 2013, there were 220 overdoses; from November 1, 2013 through April 30, 2013, the number grew to 321 overdoses.?This number includes patients brought in after using synthetic marijuana and bath salts, MCH spokeswoman Tiffany Harston said.

Synthetic drugs are manufactured without organic materials with promises to mimic highs from marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines.

"Thomas" was 14-years-old when he took his first Xanax pill. Eleven years later, Thomas is now a patient at Turning Point, a state-funded detox and rehabilitation center in Odessa that helps patients struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.

Thomas, 25, from Midland, said he began using Xanax after a friend gave him a pill when he complained he wasn't sleeping well.

His addiction to the prescription drug grew, and by the time Thomas was 18, he would drive to Mexico to refill his prescription for a full dosage.

"I'd go to Mexico and buy it over the counter. By the time I turned 18, I was self-medicating already," Thomas said. "It was very easy."

Thomas started selling Xanax for $5 a pill, including to teachers at his private school.

"They would favor me. There are even a couple of credits I remember getting through the medication," Thomas said. "Everybody wanted them. It's a chill pill. You like the way it feels because it makes you feel calm."

Thomas said that Xanax pills are now being sold for $8 to $10 each. When he would buy the prescription drug in Mexico, he would pay $10 for 100 pills.

The first sign Thomas saw of the drug's toll on his body was memory loss.

"That was my first red flag. I wanted to slow down but at that point your body gets used to it. It's horrible on your mind, physically and mentally," Thomas said. "I'd be in class and get up to go to the vending machine and just go blank. You sit there and get the phone, dial the first two numbers and go, "Whoa."

Thomas tried to detox himself of Xanax this year and said he remembered curling up in a ball for five days. "In the sixth day of not eating and sleeping and insomnia, I started throwing up blood and I panicked," Thomas said. He sought the help of a doctor, who referred him to Turning Point.

"My first three days I was mad at myself and God. I asked, 'Why did you do this to me, why did you put me through this? I didn't pray. Slowly and surely -- no one forced me to- but slowly He came back...not that He ever left -- I went back," Thomas said. "I started thanking Him for helping me get through it. I spent a lot of these days praying and it helps a lot. Right when you think no one's listening."

More seeking help

Turning Point Program Director Dave Houston went through the program himself in 2005 and 2007 when he struggled with alcohol addiction. Today, he and 26 other staff members, including three nurses, nine counselors and nine residential monitors, work 24 hours a day seven days a week on a rotating schedule. The facility currently has 32 beds but will increase to 42 beds within the next two months, Houston said.

Turning Point officials said there is a growth of patients seeking help from prescription medications, synthetic drugs and methamphetamine.

"When I came through in 2007, it was more 75 percent alcohol and 25 percent drug addiction. In the past two years it has shifted," Houston said. "We've seen an increase in meth with a lot of our clients, especially in the last six months that I've been here, but our biggest offenders are prescription medications."

The facility has a waiting list with 42 people that is extended out to the middle of June.

"We work with the persons who have lost their jobs, their housing -- their lives are pretty much destroyed," Houston said, adding the facility takes in indigent patients and let them pay what they can. "Addiction affects every family in town -- a brother or cousin that is affected by addiction. If you ask the average person in the street they are either related to or known someone with addiction issues."

The detox program takes an average five days and 35 days for rehabilitation treatment. Cocaine and methamphetamine users take four to five days to detox and heroin and alcohol need five to seven days, Houston said. "The withdrawals are harder." The facility has taken in patients from the eight surrounding counties, Houston said, who have no insurance.

Houston said Turning Point aims to provide a stable environment where patients learn to communicate issues they normally withhold from family and friends, he said.

The facility has licensed chemical dependency counselors and staff who work with patients in counseling sessions and coping skills classes.

"We're working on family dynamic groups and trying to help those persons integrate back to society with the skills of functioning without alcohol or drugs," Houston said. "Almost everyone that comes in has family issues. It's not just them that are hurting when they're using and abusing but they're hurting their families."

At Turning Point patients can walk out anytime from the program, Thomas said, and the first few days were difficult for him to want to stay. Thomas said he has been in two other programs before and "played the game," but Turning Point helped him through his first week of detox.

"Being here, the train of thought they drill in your head is that you don't need it, it's not necessary. On that seventh day something hit. I wanted to be here, I saw how much I changed in seven days and I remember thinking to myself, 'Well, I wonder what can happen in 30," Thomas said. "This is a turning point in my life."

Contact Audris Ponce at 432-333-7782.

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