The Dixie Sun

Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: DSC News

Media Credit: Bryan Uhri Photo illustration by Bryan Uhri.

"I was using close to $100 worth a day," Albert Allen (name has been changed), a Dixie State College student, said. "I thought I could handle it. I thought I was doing well in school. I didn't see the problem."

Up until two months ago, Allen was addicted to heroin and the narcotic prescription drug Oxycontin. Allen's story underscores an uncomfortable truth: Having a drug problem is not some far away specter. Drug use impacts this town, this school and students on this campus.

Psychologist Matt Eschler runs Southern Utah Counseling Experience, 1240 E. 100 South, and his practice includes both voluntary and court-ordered therapy for substance abuse. Eschler said St. George's position on Interstate 15 makes it a drug trafficking corridor.

"Just the other day the police made an arrest and seized about a million dollars worth of cocaine on I-15," he said.

According to "Four arrested on cocaine, child abuse charges" by Nur Kausar published in The Spectrum Nov. 12, the arrest happened Nov. 10, and nine pounds of cocaine were found during the search.

Don Reid, head of campus security, disagreed with St. George's reputation as being a drug corridor.

"That's far less true in this day and age," he said. "Most of the drugs that come through I-15 stay in the car."

Reid said drug traffickers don't want or need to sell drugs in St. George as they pass through.

But Allen's experiences affirm the accessibility of drugs in St. George and at DSC. He said he tried Ocycontin in high school, but the high price tag, around $80 for each pill, deterred him. When he moved to St. George he said the drug was easier to find, and much less expensive, usually around $20.

"Anyone can get it," Allen said. "It's all over the place, especially in St. George."

Prescription pills like Oxycontin are the most common drugs Eschler said he sees people addicted to in St. George. He said stimulants like speed or amphetamines are the second most common drugs he sees in his practice. While these two are the most common, he said a variety of drugs are readily available to anyone who wants them.

"These days drugs are readily available in schools as early as the fifth grade," Eschler said.

Continued...

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