Archive for July, 2010

It is disheartening to learn about anyone succumbing to a substance overdose – regardless of whether that someone is famous or infamous, young or otherwise. But when one hears about a two-year-old toddler dying of an overdose, mixed feelings of anger, frustration and confusion, beyond words, undoubtedly set in.

We found an interesting opinion piece on the Los Angeles Times, written by Angela Garcia, an assistant professor for anthropology at UC Irvine. She is the author of “The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession along the Rio Grande.”

Ms. Garcia tells the story of her neighbor, Dion, who died of a drug overdose “not too long ago.” An examination of Dion’s body yielded traces of an interesting mix of drugs: antihistamines, alcohol, cocaine and opiates. He reportedly came down with the flu, according to reports; the treatment regimen, however, was interesting, to say the least.

Such a report may not seem out of the ordinary, but the fact that Dion was not some wild teenager or drug addict caught our attention. Dion, Ms. Garcia explained, is only two years old. His parents, according to news reports, may have “treated him with the drugs they knew best,” which may explain why he had all those drugs in his system. His parents have since been charged with first-degree felony child abuse.

Dion and his family lived in the village of Velarde, in northern New Mexico. The community is part of the Espanola Valley, which has unfortunately been tagged (based on national statistics) as having the highest per-capita rate of heroin-related deaths in the United States.

Despite this “distinction”, services in the region’s lone drug clinic are said to be inadequate. In addition, the clinic is underfunded and its staff turnover is quite high. Indeed, there are changes that need to be made, but there is no telling exactly when this will happen – if it ever will.