Detox Centers in El Paso, Texas

El Paso is a well-known Texas city within the seat of El Paso County. It is home to 679,879 residents and the city is said to be one of the best places to live in the state.¹ In El Paso, residents experience a dense suburban feel, plenty of parks, and above-average public schools, making it a perfect place for young professionals and families to settle down.¹

Despite it being a populous and thriving community, El Paso is located in the “boot heel” of New Mexico. This makes the Western Texas region part of a major substance trafficking corridor between Mexico and North America.² Also referred to as the El Paso–Juarez Plaza, This part of El Paso is especially known to be associated with Mexican cartels that now have a major focus on trafficking and distributing precursor chemicals, which are used to illegally manufacture new and dangerous substances.²

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recognizes methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and non-heroin opioids as the top substance threats throughout the entire state of Texas.³ They’ve also recognized that the fentanyl making its way onto the streets is also becoming a problem, although not as big of a problem as in the Northeast.³ This is largely due to the fact that most of the heroin that comes through Texas is black tar heroin, which is difficult to mix with the white odorless synthetic opioid.³

However, “white” heroin is becoming increasingly available in El Paso: 2018 provisional data on heroin deaths found that at least 12% of all heroin-related deaths involved fentanyl.³ Of the substances most often found mixed with heroin in toxicological analysis in El Paso during the first half of 2019, 54% involved diphenhydramine (which is used to turn tar heroin into powder form).³ The other combinations included heroin and methamphetamine, at 15%, and heroin and fentanyl, at 3%.³

Between 2018 and 2020, the overdose-related death rate steadily increased from 10.9 to 13.6 fatalities per 100,000 people.⁴ This makes the average overdose death rate in El Paso 12.2 people per 100,000.⁴

The best way to prevent an overdose—and an overdose-related death—is by following through with professional treatment. Within 25 miles of the city of El Paso, there are at least 10 treatment facilities offering the following programs:⁵

• 9 facilities offer an outpatient program.
• 1 facility offers a residential program.
• 1 facility offers a medical detox program.
• 8 facilities offer interim care.
• 9 facilities offer co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

If this is your first time seeking treatment for yourself or a loved one, you should know that there are options beyond your hometown for receiving treatment. The most important thing is that you find a treatment center that has available space and can suit your needs.

There are 17 treatment facilities within 100 miles of El Paso, with 1 facility offering a residential program and 15 facilities offering outpatient treatment.⁵ If you can’t find a treatment facility close to home, don’t panic—all you have to do is expand your search.

Attending peer support groups sponsored by Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a part of substance use disorder treatment, recovery, and aftercare. These meetings allow people to come together in a safe space and share their stories and offer support to one another.

You can find the locations and schedules for these NA or AA meetings using the following resources:

• El Paso Area of NA Meetings
• Rio Grande Region of NA Meetings
• AA El Paso Meetings

Please keep in mind that while peer support group meetings are an integral part of healing from substance use disorders, they cannot take the place of professional treatment from a licensed facility and medical team.

Sources:

1. Niche. (n.d.). El Paso.
2. S. Department of Justice. (2007). West Texas high intensity drug trafficking area analysis.
3. Steve Hicks School of Social Work. (2019). State of Texas drug use patterns and trends.
4. Health Paso Del Norte. (n.d.). Indicators: Death rate due to drug poisoning.
5. Substance Abuse and mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Findtreatment.gov. (n.d.). Results.