The majority of drugs causing fatal overdoses, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, are opioids. State epidemiologist, Dr. George Turabelidze, says synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are becoming more common and are one of the reasons people are dying from overdosing.
“The people who are dealing drugs, or whoever is behind them, they come up with new ways of how to make those drugs more powerful more intoxicating. Drugs themselves are changing. And, they are not getting milder; they are getting deadlier," Turbelidze says.
Lieutenant Nelson Kibby, Special Investigations Section commander with the Springfield Police Department, oversees organized crime, special investigations and narcotics. He says they're seeing more fentanyl in Springfield.
“The illicit drug sales, we are finding that when are getting the test back from the labs — we got combinations of meth and heroin, and we got fentanyl and heroin. You just never know what you’re going to get. There are no controls on this," Kibby says.
According to the CDC in 2020, The rate of death in the U.S. for fatal ODs was 28.3 per 100,000 people. In the same year for Greene County, it was 30.1 per 100K people, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department launched the app Revive417 in early June 2023, which includes information about how to respond to a drug overdose. The drug Naloxone or Narcan can be used to reverse an opioid overdose. The app includes instructions on how to use it and where to find it.
It’s illegal to possess illicit drugs, and depending on the amounts, one could be charged with a felony. Kibby says for minor possession, charges usually come after traffic stops or other crimes, such as theft.
Treatment court
If a person is charged and they committed that crime because of their substance use disorder, they can apply for treatment court—also known as drug court—instead of serving jail time.
Kevin Austin, commissioner for Adult Treatment court in Greene County, says tampering with a motor vehicle is the most common charge in his court.
"Drug court is not a punishment, it is not a right of an individual. Drug court is something of a privilege. For someone to come into drug court it’s a little bit of a process," says Austin.
Within that process, they decide if that defendant would be a good fit for treatment court.
According to the handbook, the goal of treatment court is “to help offenders find restoration in recovery and become productive citizens.”
To graduate treatment court, participants must meet requirements. Those include stable employment, housing and 90 days of sobriety. The handbook says the program is a minimum of 18 months, but Austin says it’s typically longer.
Participants can choose faith-based or non-faith-based treatment paths. Commissioner Austin says he and the treatment court team—social workers, probation officers, and counselors—decide what treatment methods are required.
"I always want them to either be having a job or furthering their education one way or another," says Austin. "And, that may mean furthering their education on how do I present myself to get a job or something else.”
Austin decides when a person graduates from treatment court. Austin says he relies on the team to make decisions about admission, treatment and graduation. But he says he makes the final decisions. KSMU asked him what his approach is to making decisions about each participant.
Austin says he considers multiple things, including whether or not he feels the program is helping an individual.
“Generally thinking, okay, are we to the point where we can’t help this person anymore? So, our resources would be better used with somebody new coming in," says Austin.
Austin also considers public safety, effectiveness of sanction and the other participants of the court.
“I got to keep this court’s credibility, and if these participants see me as treating somebody as too harshly or too leniently, then that can affect their recovery," he says.
Stereotype of addiction
David Stoecker is a co-founder of Better Life in Recovery, a non-profit in Springfield that provides substance use recovery services, such as support groups and community events. Stoecker is in long-term recovery from substance use himself. He’s author of “Hope Dealer,” a memoir about his life and overcoming addiction.
Stoecker says the stereotype of drug use and addiction is seen as the worst choice anyone can make rather than a mental illness. He says at Better Life in Recovery, they don’t use the word ‘addict.’
“If I have if I were to have pancreatic cancer, when I walk into my doctor, he wouldn't be like, 'okay, you're my cancer.' We refer to people by unhealthy choices they make," he says.
Stoecker says that negative stereotypes can prevent some from getting treatment because "they are afraid that people are going to give that stereotype to them so they don't come forward and ask for help," he says. "I don't want people to know I have this problem because of how they're going to look at me if I know I do this drug.”
Stoecker says substance use disorder treatment shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach, and he says it’s common to see people being pushed into the same type of treatments.
“People are going to die because of that, because that pathway might not be a good fit for them. And they've never learned that there's something else out there because everybody pushes them into something they don't want to do," Stoecker says.
Stoecker has this message for people who are struggling with substance use.
“Plug into Springfield Recovery Community Center. If you're still actively using, we'll at least talk to you about safe using tips," he says. "And, we're going to love on you whether you're still using or not. I'm a firm believer that everybody has value and worth.”
You can find more substance use resources at time2actmissouri.com.
