Ask A Cop: How bad is the meth problem in Teton County?
03/19/2009, 11:51 am by Ask a Cop
Question: We’ve all heard that Wyoming has one of the highest rates of methamphetamine use in the country, particularly among young people. How serious is the problem in our community compared to the rest of the state? How often do the town and county police have to deal with users and/or dealers? Do we have the same kind of problem with meth houses, etc., that we hear other Wyoming communities have?
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This week’s question was answered by Capt. Scott Terry of the Teton County Sheriff’s Office.
Answer: Let me start with you last question first. No, we do not have near the same kind of problem with meth houses, or methamphetamine in general, as do other Wyoming communities.
During the last five years, local law enforcement working with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, have completed two major methamphetamine investigations. Each investigation resulted in the arrest and successful prosecution of the meth dealers most active in our community.
Those efforts, united with on-going education in our schools and the outdoor oriented/physically active Jackson Hole lifestyle, has resulted in methamphetamine being rarely encountered in our community today.
The substances that have the most abusive impact on our community are alcohol and prescription drugs.
Scott Terry began his career as a police officer for the Pasadena, CA Police Department serving as a patrol officer, detective and narcotics officer. After 8 years with Pasadena he accepted a position with the Jackson, WY Police Department. While with the Jackson Police Department Terry worked as a patrol officer, mounted officer, investigator, hostage negotiator, community policing coordinator/grants manager, DCI task force officer, patrol sergeant, investigative section sergeant and interim police chief. Terry retired from the Jackson Police Department in February, 2009 after serving 27years. In March, 2009, he was appointed as a captain in the Teton County Sheriff’s office where he currently leads the operations section.
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Tags: cops, Jackson Hole, meth, Police, sheriff, Teton County, wyoming
October 13th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Good article to find.
Meth use is up all over the country, however Perscription Drugs, just like Capt Scott Terry states, are on the rise. People are not understanding the dangers of leaving unused pills around the house, nor are they understanding the dangers of overuse. People get confused because a ‘doctor has perscribed them, therefore they must be safe.”