Hood County faces fentanyl surge | JP: Overdose deaths reported monthly

In the past two years, the U.S. has been grappling with the increasing number of opioid deaths, with the synthetic drug fentanyl being a driving factor behind many of those fatalities.

The problem is not only prevalent in the nation, but in Texas and recently Hood County as well, due to the close proximity to Mexico, from where a majority of the opioid supply originates.

“Originally for years, the main supply of opioids has come from China, Eastern Asia and so forth,” said Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Earl “Dub” Gillum. “Now, a lot of the fentanyl is coming up from Mexico, which is clandestine and manufactured by the drug cartels.”

HOOD COUNTY FENTANYL CASES

Within the past year, there have been four confirmed cases of fentanyl in Hood County — one in 2021 and three within the past few months. Two of those local cases resulted in death.

The most recent case involved a 20-year-old male, who was arrested last month after he “provided” a fentanyl pill to a friend, resulting in an overdose.

“A couple of young men came from Fort Worth and had bought quite a few fentanyl pills, and one of the young men overdosed on it coming into Cresson,” Gillum said. “They stopped at Sonic and had called paramedics and the paramedics rushed him to the hospital and he survived, but the other young man was charged with felony counts of manufacture and delivery of fentanyl, and they also charged him with attempted murder of his friend.”

The 20-year-old Acton resident was charged with two second-degree felony crimes — attempted murder and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, Penalty Group 1, 1-4 grams. He was also charged with a state jail felony charge of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, Penalty Group 1-B, less than 1 gram. His total bond was set at $110,000.

“He had no criminal history, had never been arrested before or been in jail, and he is hit hard, especially with the attempted murder,” Gillum said. “They just don't know; they don't know the strength of that little pill.”

The county’s first known case of fentanyl was a little over a year ago, according to Lt. Joshua Lane with the Hood County Sheriff’s Office.

“Two citizens obtained pills illegally, which they believed were oxycodone, however later learned that they were fentanyl-pressed pills to look like oxycodone,” Lane said. “This nearly fatal mistake almost cost the two their lives, however 911 was called, deputies responded and administered Narcan (overdose prescription medication) prior to EMS arriving on scene resulting in the subjects getting further medical treatment and surviving. At the time of this incident, deputies only knew the subjects had overdosed on an opiate, but didn't know which specific opiate. It was not until this past summer, by speaking with one of the subjects, that fentanyl-pressed pills were involved as this information was never shared with law enforcement around the time the incident occurred.”

Although the HCSO has only had four confirmed cases of fentanyl in the county, the actual number is quite higher as the sheriff’s office doesn’t respond to all medical emergencies or deaths, such as those that take place in a hospital.

Gillum said with his duty as current Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4, he makes 52 inquests a year on average to determine the cause and circumstance of a person’s death.

“If someone dies, we have to wait months because when they're sent to the medical examiner, they have to do a toxicology, which takes six months to get the results back,” he said. “I haven't had toxicology results come back yet for the deaths that I've worked for drugs in the last six months, but in those last six months, I've had several die as fentanyl overdoses, as well as the other JPs. We're each on call one week out of the month. We rotate every four weeks, and they're having them (fentanyl overdoes) as well.”

Gillum said he has seen an average of “two or three a month, or one a week,” die from a fentanyl drug overdose.

“I've had three in the past two months that fentanyl was found. I haven't gotten the toxicology report back, but I know when it comes back, it's going to show that,” he said.

Hood County autopsies are sent to American Forensics in Mesquite. Teresa Turner, director of the Hood County Substance Abuse Council, recently received the latest coroner’s report from there.

“Twenty-eight percent of the autopsies were overdose deaths, while another 12% were drug- and alcohol-related automobile accidents. Of course, everyone doesn't get autopsied, but I do think it speaks to a problem,” she said.

“The number one killer of teenagers is car crashes, so that puts it in perspective, that fentanyl is doing more damage than that,” Gillum said. “We need to educate people and get the news out there that right here in our beautiful community in Hood County, people are dying monthly."

RAINBOW-COLORED FENTANYL

Most fentanyl pills are blue, but Turner recently spoke with a local Drug Enforcement Administration agent, who told her that there have been reports of rainbow-colored fentanyl in North Texas.

According to the DEA website, since August, DEA and law enforcement partners have seized brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 26 states. Dubbed “rainbow fentanyl” in the news media, this trend appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to young people — even children.

Nicknamed Skittles, the brightly colored fentanyl is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk.

DIFFERENT FORMS

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, there are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer.

“Fentanyl that law enforcement is dealing with is the same as that in hospitals, however it is in a slightly different form,” Lane said. “Law enforcement is dealing with higher dosage/concentrated amounts mostly in powder or pill form, which is commonly ingested orally, injection or snorted for the high, where hospitals are using a much smaller dosage/less concentrated amount, typically administered through injection or transdermal patches, for treating pain.”

Fentanyl is available on the drug market in both liquid and powder forms.

In its liquid form, fentanyl can be found in nasal sprays, eye drops and dropped onto paper or small candles, according to the CDC website.

Powdered fentanyl looks just like many other drugs. It is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and made into pills that are made to resemble other prescription opioids, like Percocet or Oxycodone, according to the CDC.

“It is unknown exactly why drug dealers have chosen to create counterfeit pills in the form/shape of Oxycodone pills to conceal fentanyl, however it's not the only pill used,” Lane said. “Fentanyl has been found pressed into other counterfeit pills such has Xanax, pills with shapes similar to Flintstone Vitamins and pills associated with MDMA (ecstasy). Being that fentanyl is commonly in a powder form, it can be mixed in with several other types of street drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, without anyone even knowing.”

“Fentanyl is so overwhelming now,” Gillum said. “It's coming from everywhere, and they're using it in a pill form, ground up, snorting, huffing, smoking, and then cutting other drugs with fentanyl and lacing other drugs like marijuana with fentanyl that gets you addicted to it. Fentanyl is now a step above methamphetamine as far as deadly and addicting.”

TREATING AN OVERDOSE

The increase in opioid cases in Hood County has led to deputies carrying Naloxone (Narcan), a nasal spray that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. Narcan was provided to the Hood County Sheriff’s Office by Lake Granbury Medical Center.

Lane said deputies have administered Narcan approximately 10 times to residents in the community.

“We give out Narcan here, (at the Hood County Substance Abuse Council) which of course, is an overdose reversal drug, and we give out lockboxes for people who have to take a lot of prescription medicines and want to keep them safe,” Turner said. “We want people to come in and take advantage of the Narcan.”

According to the CDC, signs of overdose include small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”; falling asleep or losing consciousness; slow, weak or no breathing; chocking or gurgling sounds; limp body; and cold, clammy and/or discolored skin.

EDUCATION

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death in the U.S. for adults ages 18 to 45. It’s important for parents to educate their children on the dangers of taking pills that aren’t prescribed to them by a doctor.

“Education is our first line of defense,” Gillum said. “Education is power and knowledge. We need the public to be aware and to educate themselves and talk to their kids — and not just once.”

“Parents are by far the most important and powerful influence in their children's lives when it comes to the fight against substance use,” Turner said. “Parents are so essential. Those conversations you have with your kids in the car on the way to school, start the conversation and remind them because it makes a difference.”

Turner recommends for parents to download a mobile app that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released. The app “Talk. They Hear You,” is designed to help parents and caregivers prepare conversations with their kids about alcohol and other drugs, equipping them with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to start and continue these conversations as their kids get older.

The app includes sample conversation starters, ways to keep the conversation going, an interactive practice simulation section, and a resource section with informative and useful videos, fact sheets, brochures, infographics, guides and a tool kit.

"This really affects the whole community, whether you have kids or someone directly in your family,” Turner added. “It really is a ripple effect and there's just no place for it in a healthy community.”

For more information about fentanyl, visit cdc.gov and dea.gov.