According to the California Department of Justice Bureau of Investigation, “Drug trends are constantly changing” and they are influenced by a number of factors, such as the laws, social media, socio-economics, the area where a person lives, and attitudes toward drug use. So, to look at the substance abuse trends here in Texas, we turned to 2016 data published by the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. The most commonly abused drugs in Texas include:
- Benzodiazepine: This is also known as Alprazolam, Xanax, Rohypnol, Dalmane, Ativan, Librium, Librax, and Intensol – this drug is a sedative that can cause paranoid or suicidal thoughts. While the use has remained relatively stable, there have been more deaths associated with the drug.
- Cocaine: This drug was seeing a downward trend, but that’s been changing. It’s readily available, but cartel wars as made the source unstable.
- Marijuana: It’s been harder to get cannabis from Mexico, so there has been an increase in home-grown and hydroponic methods, specifically from Colorado.
- Methamphetamine: Since the pseudoephedrine ban in 2007-2008, we’ve had an even-bigger meth problem. According to the DEA El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), meth seizures increased by 37% between 2013 and 2015. Meth is ranked the #1 threat in Dallas and #2 in Houston.
- Heroin: The DEA reports that Mexico is increasing its opium production to meet the increasingly high levels of demand in the United States.
Synthetic marijuana deserves special mention here. According to data from the University of Texas, synthetic marijuana products “are known and sold under a wide variety of names, such as ‘K2,’ ‘K2 Summit,’ ‘Spice,’ and ‘Spice Gold.’ They had been available through gas stations and ‘head shops,’ but since they have been more tightly controlled, the most common source is now street dealers.”
Are you facing drug charges in Plano or Dallas? If so, contact The Zendeh Del Law Firm, PLLC for a hard-hitting defense!