Illegal drugs becoming more common in Idaho
At a presentation to the Jerome Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, detectives raised awareness about this growing problem
JEROME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The CDC says between April of 2020 and April of 2021, there were 64,268 fatal fentanyl overdoses in the United States.
Idaho is not immune to this problem.
The Jerome Police Department says the three most common drugs they come across are marijuana, meth, and fentanyl.
Last month, they found 420 fentanyl pills during a search warrant.
“Most of the drugs are going to be found through traffic stops, that’s why you see a lot of proactive traffic stops being done by our department,” said Detective Garcia with the Jerome Police Department. “We do that so we can locate drugs, criminal activity of sorts, and also to educate people, so there are multiple purposes to it.”
At a presentation to the Jerome Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, detectives raised awareness about this growing problem.
They said one of the recent trends is disguising drugs as something else, such as a lollipop. Children as young as middle school are taking part.
“Things like gummy bears can contain THC, so obviously they are being made to distribute to kids,” said Detective Garcia.
Sergeant Baker with the Jerome Police Department says every state surrounding Idaho and Canada has a dispensary, which is part of the reason marijuana usage is so high.
In 2021, 67% of the drugs they saw in Jerome were marijuana.
“They are running across the border, they don’t have to go down the neighborhood and buy it from Clyde the drug dealer anymore, and they actually buy better marijuana at the dispensaries because the dispensaries have to report the THC content,” said Sgt. Baker.
Detective Garcia encourages everyone to educate themselves and to know what to look for.
“Mainly just talk to your kids, that’s our future, the youth of our country,” he said.
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