{"id":43134,"date":"2021-12-21T18:20:21","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T01:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fentanyl-a-game-of-russian-roulette-for-new-mexicans\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:11:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:11:36","slug":"fentanyl-a-game-of-russian-roulette-for-new-mexicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fentanyl-a-game-of-russian-roulette-for-new-mexicans\/","title":{"rendered":"Fentanyl: A game of Russian roulette for New Mexicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hezekiah
Hezekiah Beltran ,17, is spending time at the Serenity Mesa Recovery Center, poses on Dec. 3, 2021, in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ALBUQUERQUE \u2014 He had been sober for years, a beacon in the recovery community who inspired dozens of people to get clean.<\/p>\n

When the pandemic hit, the Narcotics Anonymous meetings that served as a sanctuary for him and so many others were shut down or went virtual.<\/p>\n

Then, as those in recovery sometimes do, he faltered and started using again.<\/p>\n

The man had told colleagues in the harm reduction community he was going to straighten up and wanted to get back to work.<\/p>\n

But the 44-year-old never got the chance. He was found in a West Side parking lot in August, dead from an unintentional overdose after someone sold him a bag of heroin laced with fentanyl.<\/p>\n

It was another notch in a disturbing trend.<\/p>\n

\"Discarded
Discarded drug paraphernalia sits next to an apartment complex near Chico and Pennsylvania SE, on Dec. 8 in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Discarded
Discarded drug paraphernalia sits next to an apartment complex near Chico and Pennsylvania SE, on Dec. 8 in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last year, the New Mexico Department of Health recorded 304 fentanyl overdose deaths between January and November, a 135% increase over 2019. From 2018 to 2019 officials had tallied a 93% jump, from 67 to 129, in fentanyl overdose deaths as 74% of overdose deaths in the state involved opioids.<\/p>\n

The steep rise saw fentanyl-related overdose deaths catch up to meth overdoses, the largest contributor, for the first time. Full 2020 and 2021 data is not yet available.<\/p>\n

But Dr. Robert Kelly, substance abuse epidemiology section manager at the state Health Department, told the Albuquerque Journal<\/a> that fentanyl overdoses have continued that pace into the summer of 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing deaths in people because they don\u2019t know there\u2019s fentanyl in there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, other drugs are found alongside fentanyl in overdose patients, mostly cocaine and benzodiazepines like Xanax.<\/p>\n

As fentanyl overdose deaths spiked there was a slight drop of 2% in those involving heroin. Kelly said some people turn to fentanyl because it does the same thing as heroin but \u201cmore and faster.\u201d Others don\u2019t know what they\u2019re getting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two groups of folks. And some of the folks who know how to use fentanyl, they go out and that\u2019s their drug of choice. \u2026 It\u2019s the folks who don\u2019t know that they\u2019re getting fentanyl that\u2019s the problem,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

In 2019, New Mexico had the 12th highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, with unintentional overdoses accounting for 85% of deaths.<\/p>\n

Between 2015 and 2019, Bernalillo County had the highest number of unintentional drug overdose deaths and opioid-related overdose emergency room visits in the state. Rio Arriba County had by far the highest rate of overdose deaths, nearly double that of second place San Miguel County.<\/p>\n

In that time, use of the overdose reversal drug Narcan went up more than 1,000% in the state \u2014 from 8,158 to 94,743 doses. Its recorded success, however, rose only 432% \u2014 from 779 to 4,144.. Those who hand out Narcan to opioid users and often revive people themselves say the reversal drug doesn\u2019t work as well, and sometimes not at all, for a fentanyl overdose.<\/p>\n

\"A
A man smokes fentanyl on the corner of Wisconsin and Central Avenue SE, on Dec. 8 in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u2018Here to stay\u2019<\/div>\n

Dr. Brandon Warrick, an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico Hospital, put it bluntly: \u201cFentanyl is here, and fentanyl is here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said overdoses from the drug come into UNMH on a daily basis and they have seen the numbers \u201cramping up very fast\u201d since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never seen such a rapid increase or shift in an illicit drug source \u2014 or come anywhere near what we\u2019re seeing with fentanyl,\u201d said Warrick, whose work has centered around drug abuse for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

He said a recent troubling trend at UNMH is fentanyl overdoses in children.<\/p>\n

In the past year and a half, the hospital has treated 10 children for fentanyl overdoses. Before 2020, the hospital had treated only two children.<\/p>\n

None of the children died, but one child suffered significant brain damage from the drug. Warrick said the children, some as young as 1 and 2 years old, often take pills that were left sitting out.<\/p>\n

In other cases, kids have become hooked.<\/p>\n

In Carlsbad, such an incident led to charges against a mother and a grandmother.<\/p>\n

Alexis Murray and Kelli Smith, 35 and 55, were charged with child abuse in the Sept. 28 death of Murray\u2019s son, 12-year-old Brent Sullivan.<\/p>\n

Police found the boy unconscious from a fentanyl overdose in his grandmother\u2019s backyard. Smith told officers she tried to give Narcan to Brent but it didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Murray told police she and Smith dealt fentanyl regularly and Brent had been stealing the pills from her for months. Murray said her son had overdosed three times prior and each time they had used Narcan to revive him.<\/p>\n

The last time proved fatal.<\/p>\n

Warrick said he has seen a noticeable decrease in those using heroin, with fentanyl \u201cessentially replacing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said those who survive an overdose are not as receptive to treatment or rehab as those who develop complications, like an infection or disease, from their drug use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last thing that the person remembers is they were in their sweet spot, they were feeling good,\u201d Warrick said. \u201cThe whole period of them being unconscious \u2014 near death \u2014 is experienced by everybody but the person who overdosed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an effort to encourage recovery, he said they often turn the lights up bright and announce \u201cwelcome back from the dead\u201d when they revive someone from an overdose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get bright lights and a whole bunch of strangers saying, \u2018welcome back from the dead,\u2019 I mean, that\u2019s just like a scary experience,\u201d Warrick said.<\/p>\n

Despite that, many fentanyl users are resistant to change. He said more so than the patients, the families hurt the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s more difficult than seeing somebody overdose is seeing \u2026 how their continued use really affects their personal lives \u2026 how much their children and families just suffer,\u201d Warrick said.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer
Jennifer Burke, executive Director at Serenity Mesa Recovery Center, poses on Dec 3 in Albuquerque. in front of a mural depicting her son Cameron Weiss, who died from a drug overdose. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>ROBERTO E. ROSALES<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u2018A dime a dozen\u2019<\/div>\n

Before his death from an overdose at 18, Jennifer Burke\u2019s son used to tell her that heroin would call to him. Like a siren\u2019s song.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think fentanyl is like that, times 10. It draws them back in. It\u2019s so potent and once it grabs ahold of these kids, it\u2019s so hard for them to get back on their feet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A man smokes fentanyl on the corner of Wisconsin and Central Avenue SE, on Dec. 8 in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Burke, who runs the rehab center Serenity Mesa in Albuquerque, said in the past year fentanyl has \u201cturned everything upside down.\u201d Clients, ranging from 14 to 21 years old, went from an even split of heroin and meth to 80% fentanyl users.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen fentanyl hit the market here in New Mexico, it took over really quickly, and I think people that had an addiction to opiates, that became their drug of choice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Burke said the influx was so great they have had a waitlist, often up to 20 people, stretching back a year. The facility has had more referrals in the past 18 months than it has ever had since it opened in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to keep up,\u201d Burke said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard because I don\u2019t want to turn anybody away, especially somebody who\u2019s young, who\u2019s struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the whole point of their program is to \u201ccatch them when they\u2019re young\u201d before they end up in prison or worse. Burke said it\u2019s much easier to help a young person turn their life around than a 40-year-old who\u2019s been using for decades.<\/p>\n

Because of the drug\u2019s prevalence and profits, Burke believes the only solution is prevention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s too many drug dealers out there making tons and tons of money,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 If nobody\u2019s going to buy the product, then they\u2019re not going to make any money and there\u2019s no product to sell \u2014 we have to get people to stop using.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said fentanyl users who are able to get into the 14-bed facility have a much harder time than those hooked on meth or heroin. The withdrawals are much more painful and they often see psychosis and mental health issues with the drug.<\/p>\n

Burke said they sometimes take clients back two or three times after a relapse as the cravings and triggers can last for months. And the users are getting younger and younger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, 14- and 15-year-olds being addicted to fentanyl is not uncommon,\u201d Burke said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s really sad because it\u2019s altering their brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who are still out there, Burke said it\u2019s a game of \u201cRussian roulette.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are drugs being made by people that really don\u2019t care if you live or die, they could care less, you\u2019re a dime a dozen to them,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 You don\u2019t know what you\u2019re getting when you buy \u2014 the next dose that you get could be fatal and that\u2019s what scares me the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hezekiah
Hezekiah Beltran ,17, is spending time at the Serenity Mesa Recovery Center, poses on Dec. 3, 2021, in Albuquerque, N.M. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>ROBERTO E. ROSALES<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Hooked as a teen<\/div>\n

They were all baby-blue and stamped the same, but Hezekiah Beltran began to notice that each pill was different.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot every pill had the same amount of whatever inside of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One day, a day like any other, he said he smoked a fentanyl pill and suddenly got dizzy. The last thing he thought is he was overdosing.<\/p>\n

Beltran said he woke up after the people around him, strangers who became friends over a shared vice, revived him with Narcan.<\/p>\n

It was just another day for the 17-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought that I would be anything more than a drug addict \u2026 that\u2019s what I felt my life was going to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beltran, who has been recovering from a yearslong fentanyl addiction at Serenity Mesa, said his foray into the world of drug use came early.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing brought up in the lifestyle \u2014 crime, violence and stuff like that \u2014 I feel like I always knew too much at a young age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beltran, of Raton, started smoking marijuana at 9 and by 15 had graduated to meth, using with the same people who once did drugs with his older relatives. After getting arrested for meth distribution and firearm possession, the teen skipped town.<\/p>\n

He said he landed in a neighborhood in Rio Rancho where everyone was hooked on fentanyl. The next door neighbor sold it, $10 a pill before noon, $20 after midnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just cut everybody off and at that point, it was a whole new group of people that I associated myself with. They were all fentanyl addicts,\u201d Beltran said.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before he was smoking five or six pills a day. He said the drug made heroin look like aspirin, it was that much stronger. And the sickness that came after was hell to pay: He couldn\u2019t move, was in pain all over and couldn\u2019t stop throwing up.<\/p>\n

Those he hung around with were in the same boat, good people who just \u201cgot caught up in the life.\u201d They ranged from their teens and up, committing petty crimes to support their habit.<\/p>\n

Overdoses were common. One man bragged about having survived 27 of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very grateful that I got out of that mess. I could have easily died with all the things I was doing,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel lucky \u2014 because a lot of people don\u2019t get out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beltran thought back to a woman, in her 20s, who had stayed with him. He said they smoked fentanyl together and she overdosed. The Narcan, at least two doses, didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t come back \u2013 they just kept on trying and trying,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 There was no color in her eyes. You know how my eyes are brown?\u2026 There was nothing there. I\u2019ll never forget that look in her eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christine
Christine Barber, who runs Street Safe, an all-volunteer nonprofit that follows a harm-reduction philosophy by striving to reduce the harmful consequences associated with life on the streets, works the streets Nov. 19 in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u2018There is hope\u2019<\/div>\n

Beltran said a police call to the house he was living at in April saved his life.<\/p>\n

He said he spent a month and a half withdrawing in quarantine at the Metropolitan Detention Center. From there, he went to a treatment center in Santa Teresa before landing at Serenity Mesa.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe getting help is the only way to get through, but there is hope. There is a better future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Esperanza
Esperanza Cordova, a longtime drug addict who has taken fentanyl, poses on Nov 19 in Albuquerque. Esperanza took advantage of the services offered by the organization called Street Safe, an all-volunteer nonprofit that follows a harm-reduction philosophy by striving to reduce the harmful consequences associated with life on the streets. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eight months later, Beltran said he has started feeling again. Happiness, sadness, worry, hope. At first, sobriety was scary and overwhelming. There are still triggers \u2014 a certain smell, crumpled tin foil \u2014 but he moves past them. Ever forward.<\/p>\n

Beltran, set to be released soon, said he plans to move to Tennessee to live with family, get his GED and pick up a trade. For the first time in a long time, he is hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are scared to get off of dope or get off fentanyl because they\u2019re scared of the sickness, because they\u2019ve been minimizing feelings \u2026 for so long,\u201d Beltran said. \u201cIt is hard, but I would like other people to know that it doesn\u2019t last forever, the sickness doesn\u2019t last forever, and there is hope.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hezekiah Beltran ,17, is spending time at the Serenity Mesa Recovery Center, poses on Dec. 3, 2021, in Albuquerque. (Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)Roberto E. Rosales\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP ALBUQUERQUE \u2014 He had been sober for years, a beacon in the recovery community who inspired dozens of people to get clean. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[799,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-43134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-farmington","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85584,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43134\/revisions\/85584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43134"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=43134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}