Campbell United hears presentation on county’s drug trends

‘We want to start early and break that generational cycle of addiction’- Trent Coffey, Campbell United organizer

TOP PHOTO: Campbell United, Campbell County’s anti-drug coalition has been going strong for a year this month and continues to gain momentum and members. On Thursday, November 14, coalition members met at TCAT Jacksboro to hear a presentation from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department.

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- Captain Matt Wasson and Lieutenant J.J. Hatmaker with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department gave a presentation on alcohol and drug arrest related data, at Thursday’s Campbell United anti-drug coalition meeting held at TCAT in Jacksboro.

Captain Wasson is the Sheriff’s Office Supervisor for Patrol and School Resource Officers. He spoke about drug trends in Campbell County, both past and present, as well as rising incidents of drug overdoses.

Meth labs are more a thing of the past, according to Wasson, who said that Heroin had made a comeback and that it was often laced with Fentanyl, which is a very potent narcotic.

“I haven’t seen a meth lab in six years; I’m sure it’s still out there, but right now, the majority of what we’re dealing with is Heroin and Fentanyl overdoses and things like that,” Wasson said.

According to Wasson, the majority of Heroin, Fentanyl and methamphetamine that law enforcement sees in Campbell County is “typically coming from larger cities like Knoxville, and Chattanooga.” Before that it was “originating from China and coming up from Mexico across the border.”

“Unfortunately, I-75 runs right through Campbell County, and I-75 is like a drug pipeline, so we’re getting stuff out of Atlanta and getting stuff from up north in Michigan, so we’re getting it from all over the place,” Wasson said.

Sheriff’s department officials also fielded questions about drug overdoses, Narcan administration, among other topics.

“Narcan is not a fix to the overdose; Narcan just prolongs your life until you can seek further medical attention. The problem we run into is that once we get someone back to consciousness is number one, nine times out of ten they are mad because you ruined their high and number two, the ambulance is usually on scene, but they refuse medical attention, so it’s not a permanent fix. It will bring them out of an overdose, but it’s not a permanent fix, if they refuse further medical attention, a lot of times, they go right back into an overdose,” Wasson said, adding that whether they got arrested often depended on whether or not they had more of the drug on them.

He also said that anyone arrested would have to get “medically cleared” by medical staff before coming into the jail facility.

According to Hatmaker, the sheriff’s department implemented its Narcan policy that officers carry Narcan around five years ago.

Wasson said that ten or 12 years ago, he would have not believed that Heroin would be in Campbell County.

“When Heroin hit our county, I had never even seen it before, and that’s all we’re seeing now. It’s cheaper and the Fentanyl that they are lacing it with, we’ve heard this from addicts’ own mouths – the Fentanyl is such a tremendous high to them, it’s worth being on the edge of death, at that point, they don’t care if they live or die. To them, that’s what their world revolves around at that point, and it’s a hard trend to break. We can’t help them if they don’t want help, there’s nothing we can do. All we can do is the reoccurring cycle, is find it, charge them, arrest them, put them in jail, they’re going to get right back out of jail and go right back doing the same thing and that’s going to continue until they make a conscious decision to change,” Wasson said.

He said during drug raids, law enforcement even encountered drug dealers who kept Narcan at their homes where they dealt illegal substances and “boasted their Heroin was so strong it would kill you and they kept Narcan to bring you back to life.”

He also noted the trend that drug addiction can pass from generation to generation.

“No one wants to get addicted to Heroin and have nothing else going on in their life. A lot of it is the life that they’ve led and how they were raised. We’re seeing a trend that the same people we were dealing with 20 years ago, now we’re dealing with their kids and grandkids, it’s just a family cycle,” Wasson said.

Education and access to resources is “key” to breaking the generational cycle, according to coalition officials.

Wasson and Hatmaker said that there is drug education provided while individuals are incarcerated, as well as drug education though the criminal court and general sessions court.

“The drug courts are doing an amazing job when we can get those people in those courts,” Hatmaker said. According to Hatmaker and Wasson, “more access to these kinds of programs could make a difference, but only if individuals truly want to change.”

Campbell United organizer Trent Coffey, who is also with Scott County’s anti-drug coalition “The Stand”, said that one of the goals for the coalition in Campbell County was to offer Narcan training and have Narcan availability through the coalition.

“One of the things that the coalition can do as we grow, and we do this in Scott County, the first responder is the person sitting right next to the person who is overdosed, whether a family member or friend. At Stand, we have Narcan readily available at our coalition that anybody can come in and get, we have to do a little training with them and go over it with them. They don’t have any disclosures, we go over it with them and send them on their way; that’s one of the goals that we’re going for,” Coffey said.

He also asked law enforcement if it would help them in overdose situations where individuals refuse medical services and treatment, “would it help to have a page of information listing services” where they could seek help if they chose to do so.”

Coffey said that was a project the coalition could work on to provide to local law enforcement “up to date services.” He said, “information gathering and communication were key to the coalition’s success in identifying “gaps in services” and where there was a lack in resources.

“Those are things that we can identify and help with, that’s what goes into a grant proposal,” Coffey said.

Campbell United has been re-established for a year and has continued to grow in momentum.

According to organizers, the coalition has been “building its capacity and knowledge and identifying community partners to truly get at the root causes of addiction and how to best serve the community in all aspects.”

“Campbell United is a true prevention coalition, we want to work with the people in active addiction and in recovery and make sure they have the resources they need to have. The main thing we want to do is start early and break that generational cycle of addiction. That’s something that we have to do, is to break that cycle, get at those root causes, expand our mental health, expand our education programs and show them there’s a different way, get out of these poverty mindsets that it has to be the same old way,” Coffey said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-11/18/2024-6AM)