“Gray Death” sneaks into border town

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah and entered into evidence at a court hearing shows counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that were seized during an investigation.

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Cocaine was everywhere when Mindy Portillo immersed herself in the El Paso club scene 20 years ago.

“It was very simple. I met people and it just happened – just like that,” said the former drug user.

Two decades later, Mindy Portillo, once a drug user on El Paso’s club scene, has become a rehab trainer at the Aliviane Substance Use Treatment and Support Center and is now on the front lines of the fight against the fentanyl epidemic.

Their clients, real people with real lives, are coming across fentanyl in pills they thought were brand-name painkillers, or mixed with their heroin or its residue-contaminating marijuana, pressed by cartels on the same tables they use to make the chemicals to make fentanyl.

Portillo and others trying to save addicts’ lives are particularly concerned about the latest version of fentanyl sold in El Paso. It’s a grayish-looking paste, powder or rock called “concrete,” a substance that’s extremely dangerous.

“Concrete is a new drug that has been on the streets of El Paso for the last two years. It’s a deadly combination of fentanyl, carfentanyl and heroin. It’s deadly. You only need a small amount, like with fentanyl. I honestly don’t see the point in it, but that’s what everyone on the street is taking now.”

Border Report immediately reached out to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for comment on the presence of the drug, which local advisers said they first heard about one to two years ago. No immediate response was forthcoming, underscoring the need for immediate action and public awareness.

In a March 2023 report, the National Institutes of Health issued a warning about a drug cocktail it called “gray death” that bears striking similarities to El Paso’s “concrete.” Both are mixtures of fentanyl, carfentanyl and heroin – plus the designer drug U-47700.

According to NIH, the side effects of Concrete can range from mild to severe due to its unpredictable nature. Confusion, difficulty moving, fatigue, tremors, loss of balance, seizures, mental confusion, vomiting, nausea, convulsions, and hyperventilation are some of the major side effects of Concrete.

The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s drug death reports do not record any “concrete” deaths through 2022. The medical examiner’s annual report for that year reported 80 deaths from fentanyl overdoses – alone or in combination with other drugs.

“We encourage people to talk to their children and contact their loved ones because fentanyl is out there,” said Guillermo Valenzuela, Aliviane’s chief corporate officer. “If you buy drugs from street dealers, you’re likely to come across fentanyl. These are accidental overdoses. No one goes out and plans to overdose.”

Aliviane, a 50-year history in El Paso

When Aliviane opened in El Paso in 1970, its work focused on heroin users in the El Segundo barrio in south El Paso, with active community participation.

Valenzuela stressed: “The problem of heroin use persists and is now exacerbated by drugs like fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which continue to have serious impacts on communities like ours.”

According to Texas state authorities, 1.6 million residents reported a substance abuse disorder in 2023. The state experienced an increase in opioid-related overdoses – especially fentanyl overdoses.

Valenzuela estimates that only ten percent of people seek help and an even smaller percentage receive it.

He and others hope the situation on the ground will improve with the grand opening of Aliviane’s new residential treatment center in East El Paso on Tuesday.
“With this new facility, Aliviane aims to meet the growing demand for effective substance abuse treatment in El Paso,” said Ivonne Tapia, CEO of Aliviane.

The facility has 52 beds and is already at full capacity. It accepts men and women over the age of 18, including women with families, for up to three months.
Rehabilitation coach Portillo said that supporting each other is an important part of the path out of drug addiction.

“I’m not coming to you as a medical professional, but as a person on the road to recovery. I know what you’re going through, I’ve been in your situation,” Portillo said. “I’m just trying to motivate you and guide you toward sobriety. That’s basically what peer support does.”

For information about rehabilitation support, visit Aliviane.org or call 915-782-4000.