What’s Killing Us? WREG Investigates Drugs

SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — The opioid crisis is seeping into every neighborhood in the Mid-South. It’s impacting neighborhoods, families, and lives.

“I was of course getting high. Also, selling drugs and got into some trouble,” Regina Reynolds said.

We met Reynolds inside 201 Poplar. She said over a decade, she used methamphetamine to cope with childhood trauma.

“I thought this was the life I was dealt and was probably going to die in this,” she said.

Drugs lead to trouble, jail time and then in October 2022, a traffic stop.

“I was going to take drugs to somebody,” she said.

Police found meth in the car. Reynolds was booked and referred to the Shelby County Drug Court, which is an intensive, court-supervised treatment for nonviolent drug offenders.

Judge Lee Wilson is in charge. He told us most people in the program “don’t realize the root cause of addiction is trauma.”

Judge Wilson says recovery has become even harder due to more drugs in the Mid-South being laced with fentanyl. It’s a synthetic opioid that’s increases a drug’s potency.

“It’s much more addictive than any drug we’ve seen before. At the same time, it’s also more lethal and deadlier than any other drug we’ve seen in the past,” Judge Wilson said.

It only takes a two-milligram dose to be fatal, which equates to about ten grains of salt.

What’s even scarier, Judge Wilson said many in his program had no idea they were taking fentanyl until they were tested.

“I would liken it to someone playing Russian Roulette,” he said.

WREG investigators are digging deeper into the problems harming our community and exploring possible solutions.

Fentanyl is a major concern for the Shelby County Health Department, which reports a 465% increase in fatal opioid overdoses from 2007 to 2017.

Since then, the numbers have consistently climbed largely due to fentanyl. Health officials report 499 people died of a suspected opioid overdose last year in Shelby County. So far this year, nearly 200.

“The unit that I’m over which is the heroin opioid response team,” Memphis Police Lt. Kevin Baker said.

He explained his team responds to every overdose call. They first offer help then find out where they got the drugs.

“And from there, we try to identify that person and possibly prosecute them,” he said. “It affects every neighborhood, you know. People of all walks of life are buying drugs. It affects all neighborhoods in the city.”

Sometimes Memphis Police work with other local, state, and federal agencies. They explained some cases reach multiple states and countries.

“Especially when it’s imported by the Mexican cartel, the cocaine is laced with the fentanyl. They’re doing it because it has people coming back to them,” MPD’s Organized Crime Unit Col. Frank Winston said.

He said in recent cases, officers have even seen marijuana laced with fentanyl.

“I used to hear I would only buy from this person. Just because you know that person, their main goal is to get money. Whatever they do is to ramp up their productivity. They don’t care if they know you or not,” Winston said.

Often times, he said officers find fentanyl with or in crack cocaine, which he says has resurged in Memphis.

Officers said they found crack cocaine along with guns, fentanyl, and other drugs hidden in duffle bags at a hotel in April.

Two weeks before that, they found crack cocaine in a home with again , more guns and fentanyl. Two were arrested.

Right before that they made a huge bust on Interstate 40. MPD was part of a task force that nabbed two from Texas accused of carting 85 pounds of fentanyl in their pickup truck.

“Fentanyl is 100 times more dangerous than morphine. Fentanyl is a pain medicine that’s supposed to be administered by trained doctors,” Winston said. “A piece of fentanyl up under your fingernail is enough to kill you. Enough to kill you.”

Some states have passed laws forcing more people with mental illness and addiction to get help. The civil commitment process in Tennessee can be difficult, which is why the health department’s main focus is saving lives.

They have a team tracking preliminary information , so they can figure out targeted intervention efforts.

They are also distributing kits that include fentanyl test strips and Naloxone , which reverses an opioid overdose.

“We are probably giving out 400 kits a month if not more, and we are also planning on trying out a vending machine,” Shelby County Health Director Dr. Michelle Taylor said.

The health department reports this year, that a majority of suspected fatal opioid overdoses are middle-aged African American men. It also reports the areas hit the hardest have been County District 7 and 8, which include parts of Berclair, Highland Heights, Downtown, Midtown, Raleigh, and Frayser.

Researchers state communities must address the issues that allow addiction to fester like housing, jobs, transportation, and systemic racism

Judge Wilson agrees. He said Drug Court works to address the participant’s needs. They connect them to services and partner programs and help them find housing and stable employment.

“These people go out and get jobs, and all of a sudden, they are now contributing to the community instead of taking from the community,” he said.

If they complete Drug Court, the criminal charges get erased. The court tracks participants five years after they graduate and reports that 78% don’t reoffend.

He said they have room to accept about 30 to 40 more people, but the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and the defense attorney have to agree on those referrals.

“My clean date is November 11, 2022,” she told us proudly. “It makes me feel like I can breathe again.”

She knew 201 Poplar would change her life, but not like this.

“They never gave up on me,” she said at the graduation ceremony in May.

Tears fell down her face as her grandson ran on stage to give her a hug.

“Just being able to have them back in my life, it fills my heart,” she said. “I feel worthy. I feel like a mother again. A grandmother.”

She’s now working as a peer specialist at a local recovery center. She hopes to give insight and inspire others.

Drugs have become a battle for far too many, and it’s not easy to walk away.

“No, super hard. I’m still, you know, my mom is an addict. My sister is an addict. I still go through that every day,” Reynolds said.

If you or someone you know is battling a substance use disorder, call or text the Tennessee Redline at 1-800-889-9789.

For full disclosure, Jessica sits on the Shelby County Drug Court Foundation Board.

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