Social media fuels rise in fentanyl use across the Basin, especially among teens

MIDLAND/ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The rates of illegal fentanyl abuse have skyrocketed across the Basin in the last 10 years, especially among teens and young adults. Preliminary data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services shows that since 2022, 35 people from Odessa, and 16 from Midland, have died as a result of fentanyl poisoning.

Fentanyl is an extremely potent opioid that is often pressed into pills or cut with other illegal drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine to produce a stronger “high”.  It makes illicit drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous; and the data shows that teens are falling victim to this dangerous drug at an alarming rate, thanks, in part, to social media.

Affidavits from recent arrests involving overdose investigations showed that the suspected dealers made contact with teens by using Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, among other social media sites.

“There will be people that advertise that they’re selling these narcotics…it’s real easy for people, especially the younger people that have these social media platforms, to get in contact with the dealers and start making arrangements to make purchases,” said Odessa Police Department Detective Corporal Alex Reyes.

Between November of 2023 and mid-April of this year, OPD responded to at least 29 overdoses, or poisonings, involving fentanyl. In 14 of those cases, officers administered Naloxone, an opioid antagonist that can reverse the effects of drugs like fentanyl. Of those 29 cases, three were fatal, and 14 of those victims were between the ages of 13 and 19.

“It’s always a surprise to see such young people with those types of drugs,” Reyes said.

Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said overdose cases involving teens are some of the most heartbreaking to investigate.

“It’s one of the saddest things you could be involved in…finding one of your loved ones, especially your child, dead in the morning after they went to bed. And it’s happened many, many times in the Permian Basin and in Ector County. People will tell their kid goodnight and they’re dead the next morning. We don’t want another parent to have to go through the heartbreak of finding their child dead of a fentanyl overdose and it’s a one pill will kill in a lot of cases,” Griffis said.

Fentanyl is so deadly because it’s not regulated and the people lacing drugs with fentanyl can’t and don’t control the amount put into the product. The Drug Enforcement Agency said seven out of every 10 M30 pills tested contained a lethal dose of the drug. M30s are round, blue pills made to look exactly like prescription oxycodone pills and are the most common drug linked to overdose cases involving teens in the area.

“The past couple of years our fentanyl seizures have increased. I don’t know off hand what that number is, so far this year, but I do know a couple of weeks ago, we seized about 1,100 fentanyl tabs and it’s continuous,” Griffis said.

In the first three and a half months of 2024, OPD has investigated at least 22 distribution cases involving these fentanyl containing pills.

And it’s not just social media driving the rise in cases. Griffis said these pills are available for purchase at events often frequented by families and teens.

“At the fair last year, one of our deputies did contact a 15-year-old because he noticed him vaping. Upon further investigation, this 15-year-old was found with a handgun and a pretty good quantity of fentanyl laced pills. Fifteen years old. Some of these kids are making money off this stuff, if your kid is making money that you don’t know how he’s making that money, you might want to check into it,” Griffis said.

That’s why area law enforcement agencies are encouraging parents to talk to their kids, especially their teens, about the dangers of fentanyl.

When addressing the dangers of fentanyl with your children, here are some tips from the DEA for parents and caregivers:

• Encourage open and honest communication
• Explain what fentanyl is and why it is so dangerous
• Stress not to take any pills that were not prescribed to you from a doctor. No pill purchased on social media is safe
• Make sure they know fentanyl has been found in most illegal drugs
• Create an “exit plan” to help your child know what to do if they’re pressured to take a pill or use drugs

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