John Bogna
Oil field workers, particularly long-haul truckers, regularly engage in illegal drug use without being punished for it, according to a new report from the Houston Chronicle.
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The report says that the money coming into Texas from the latest in a cycle of energy booms and busts is bankrolling the illegal drug industry. Truckers pulling in six-figure salaries would use cocaine and other illegal substances to keep them awake on routes that took anywhere from 36-48 hours, nonstop.
“They honestly don’t mind drug use as long as you’re not doing stupid things,” former oil field trucker Eddy Lozoya told the Chronicle. He related stories of his time on the job, saying that truckers would often drive in tight single-file lines and blow their air horn at another driver when they became sleepy and veered off the road.
Both law enforcement and drug rehabilitation programs have noted a rise in drug offenses, especially among younger people. “We’re losing a generation of children to drugs and alcohol,” said Michele Savage, director of the Palmer Drug Abuse Program, in an interview.
Drugs can pull down a much higher price in remote Texas due to the seclusion of the area and ready cash from high-paying jobs in oil, says Lozoya.
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