Sheriff 'blown away' by school drug problem

Following a special presentation, Sheriff Tom Spurlock spoke Monday at a town hall meeting of about 20 attendees hosted by the Jacksboro Police Department along with STOMP at the Jacksboro Middle School. He reported what local law enforcement is doing to combat illegal drug use in the county. He said beginning January 1, a special enforcement team made up members from the sheriff’s office, Jacksboro Police Department, the game warden and DPS began to step up enforcement.

“Since January 1, we’ve booked 58 people into the county jail,” Spurlock said. 

He said the sheriff’s office is also in the process of trying to get a drug dog using money from seizures.

Regarding high school students and drug abuse, Spurlock said students sought out law enforcement officers to talk to following the overdose death of JHS junior Trey Pruitt.

“I was just blown away at the drug problem that’s in our high school and in our middle school,” he said. “You know there was an arrest that came from that one deal; that’s not the only parent in this county that is supplying their children with dope. And the kids are sitting there laying it out on the line. Not every story has been validated, but we have started doing some investigating.”

The program for the evening featured Steve Reynolds, retired Texas Department of Public Safety narcotics investigator who provided information on what the trends are with drug use and what indicators parents or loved ones can look for.

He said the eyes are a good indicator of drug use and can often give signs of what type of drug is being used. Take into consideration the type of light the observation is made in and wait 60 to 90 seconds after a change in amount of light.

“The key thing to remember is if we’re talking about a child in school, a family member or a friend, somebody that we know, we’ve established a baseline somewhere in our life,” Reynolds said. “We have something to compare to. Are they on drugs? Maybe, maybe not. You have to look at the indicators and you have to make a determination what you feel like is going to be your avenue to take.”

He shared details on three of the most abused drugs — methamphetamine, prescription drugs and marijuana.

He said there is currently more methamphetamine in the U.S. than there has ever been.

“I would venture to say there’s probably not many towns in Texas you could go to today and not find some methamphetamine,” Reynolds said. “Population 10, you might get away with that, but for the most part we see meth everywhere we go."

To read the complete article, see the Feb. 24 edition of the Herald-Gazette.