Woman accused of giving daughter drugs to sell at Fairbanks school
by Chris Freiberg / cfreiberg@newsminer.com
8 months ago | 7346 views | 37 37 comments | 18 18 recommendations | email to a friend | print
FAIRBANKS — A Fort Wainwright woman has been accused of giving a prescription drug to her daughter so the teen could sell it at her high school.

Erica Durham, 40, has been charged with three felony counts of drugs misconduct, including first-degree drugs misconduct.

The Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement began investigating Durham last week when she allegedly sold an undercover officer 10 Adderall pills and more than 50 Sudafed pills. Adderall is commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder, though in recent years universities have reported students abusing the drug to help them study. The pill, which is addictive, is known to increase alertness and concentration.

Durham, who is not an Army soldier although she lives on post, allegedly told the officer to use the Sudafed to make methamphetamine. One of the main ingredients in Sudafed, pseudoephedrine, is commonly used in the illicit manufacturing of meth and state law places limits on how much of the drug an individual can possess.

She offered to provide the officer with more Sudafed pills after the first of the year and told him her 16-year-old daughter had been selling Adderall at school, where she would sell the pills for $10 or $20 each, depending on their strength, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

Investigators interviewed the teen at Lathrop High School the next day. She told the officer that her mother gave her the pills in October to sell though she initially did not want to sell them. She eventually sold one pill at school and said the rest were stolen from her, court documents allege.

When investigators served a search warrant on Durham’s home Friday, they found more Adderall and Sudafed pills as well as a small amount of marijuana.

A magistrate set Durham’s bail at $25,000. Durham has no prior criminal record in Alaska.

comments (37)
« joeslankas wrote on Thursday, Dec 24 at 09:44 PM »
No way are you still here, pole-smoker.

It's a good thing you were an athlete, because you obviously didn't learn much in spelling class.

$1000 a week? I'm guessing you were in the ditch diggers local 153.

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« sureiscoldhere wrote on Thursday, Dec 24 at 12:18 AM »
These posts back and forth are pretty entertaining. Speaking as a military spouse and one of wives who " took a job from an Alaskan" I want to say. 1) I am damn sure the majority of crimes here are not caused by Active Duty military.. Yes some pretty crappy things have happened due to a select few, but that is everywhere not just here.. You certainly can not assume that all military members are like this. Secondly, I am pretty sure that it is Eielson and Fort WW that keep most of these businesses going- thus creating jobs for the Alaskans. And the venereal disease that they bring with them.. funny.. Alot of them are married to Alaskan women. The point is off here, Who gives a crap if this lady was the spouse of a Soldier, Airman, or Alaskan.. She committed a crime and that is the issue at hand. Not pointing fingers at others and bringing down the men and women of fighting forces that are here.. The ones that give you the right to speak such trash about them. Shame on you.
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« jack_the_ripper wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 07:34 PM »
1) hookedonphonics.com

2) I've lived here 36 years

3) I like the idea from the last poster about 'peace at the end of a .45.' Try that too.

This has gotten tiresome. There's no cure for stupidity. [sigh]
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« dasuberding wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 04:27 PM »
GYM,Gym,gym...you sound like a forking sociopath and an uneducated one at that. There's always peace at the end of a .45
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« RichardHead wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 03:29 PM »
Dude, I'm in tears!!! You make it too easy! I do feel bad because you sound like an old cuss that has some real issues. I have a solution for you though - get in your pick um up truck and drive really, really fast down the Rich past Eielson;-) Then when the base police pulls you over, don't listen and become disruptive. You'll get a shocking surprise;-)

Oh yea, gymdandy, have a dandy Cristmas and a better New Year. Maybe santa will bring you a something for that anger issue you have and maybe even a spelling book....

Cheers, I'm out of here....
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« dasuberding wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 02:39 PM »
I believe gymdandy was one of the recipients of the ADD/ADHD drugs this woman was selling, thus the extreme anger. He's suffering from ephedrine withdrawal. Why so angry bro?
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« motherbear wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 11:04 AM »
This story just breaks my heart. I teach my daughter the dangers of drugs & alcohol, I would NEVER hand them over to her!! I feel so bad for this little girl. Poor thing.
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« Blacksack wrote on Wednesday, Dec 23 at 10:32 AM »
Wow. News Miner comment section fighting.
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« since1971 wrote on Tuesday, Dec 22 at 08:08 PM »
what was the topic? oh yeah kid learning a trade???
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« sureiscoldhere wrote on Tuesday, Dec 22 at 07:30 PM »
I just want to say that I read these blogs pretty often. But this is the first time that I feel I need to say something. First of all it is not doctors or drug manufactures fault that people illegally use there drugs that are prescribed to them. Medications are made to help people feel better and it is a doctors job to help find out what there problem is, how to fix there problem and how to help them with there symptoms. This woman illegally used prescribed medications to her for stmptoms she must have lied about to benefit herself.. How do medical people know that? Regardless, she is a criminal and using her child to help her is dispicable. What about the other teenagers at Lathrop? What about there safety when there are mothers giving children pills to sell to them? I think that this alleged ( yeah ok) crime should be charging her for potential harm she could have caused each and every one of those kids there. Fingers are always pointed at someone else. How can fingers be pointed at anyone other than the "alleged" criminal in this case? Anyone with a heart, a conscious, a brain would know that selling drugs is bad but giving a teenager drugs to sell to fellow students sickens me. Someone could have been killed taking medications like that. Thank You. This is not intended to be rude just intended to try adn make a point that no one should make excuses for her. Also ona side note it was Eielson AFB Security Forces who " tazed" that 80 year old man, not Fort Wainwright. That was a last ditch effort when he did not cooperate with there many requests.. From what thenewsminer reported when it happened.. another example of pointing the finger of blame elsewhere than the person who did the crime or the alleged crime..
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« sureiscoldhere wrote on Tuesday, Dec 22 at 07:15 PM »
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« hrdharry wrote on Tuesday, Dec 22 at 06:20 PM »
I wonder if the mom will punish the daughter for ratting her out?
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« fairbanks wrote on Tuesday, Dec 22 at 02:42 PM »
Stay on topic, please. - Julie
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