Drug Test - McAllen, TX

McAllen, Texas - Drug Testing

Notable Historical Events Related to Drug Use in McAllen, TX

In October of 2021, four McAllen residents were included in 27 arrests made for drug charges in the Rio Grande Valley region. The drug trafficking network imported and distributed counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine and sold illicit opioids from January through October of 2021. The arrests were made after the DEA issued a public safety alert, warning residents about the increase in the availability of counterfeit pills and their deadliness. The pills were mass-produced by the criminal network in labs and marked as legitimate prescription pills. The investigation led to the seizure of multiple kilograms of illicit narcotics, including counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Experts Say...

Hildebrando Mireles of Tropical Texas Behavioral Health spoke in 2018 about the increasing opioid problems in McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley region after the FDA's approval of Dsuvia, a new painkiller that's 1,000 stronger than morphine. "Our doctors started realizing that they needed to do something about this epidemic problem," said Mireles, "so we developed our own policy to stop prescribing these medications just recently." Mireles said that the opioid problem will only increase if nothing is done and that education to the community and doctors is where it starts. He said that 80 percent of heroin users started with prescription drug abuse, and the biggest problem comes when drug users start mixing these drugs with heroin. "When you start mixing those drugs together that's where we're seeing a lot of overdoses, that's where we're seeing a lot of deaths," Mireles said, "Even users have to be educated on how to deal with an overdose. We have medications that we can use to combat, to treat that problem."

Local Initiatives to Curb Substance Abuse in McAllen, TX

Residents of McAllen, TX can turn in their unused, unwanted, and expired prescription medications to drug take-back locations around the state. Turning in these mediations is safe and confidential and keeps them from getting into the wrong hands. McAllen residents can turn in medications at participating pharmacies or the McAllen ISD Police Department's prescription drug box.

Last updated 10/4/2022