Archive for November, 2014

Teen beauty pageant contestant arrested on drug charges

Posted on: November 21st, 2014 by sobrietyresources

November 21, 2014

Jamie France in an earlier DMV photo, left, and her arrest mug shot, right(Photo: Courtesy of Keizer Police)
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A former beauty pageant contestant’s arrest on drug charges underscores a chilling pattern of drug abuse that police say they see time and time again among young people in the Salem-Keizer area. Jamie France, 23, was found by Keizer Police in a Salem hotel room on Wednesday as they were executing a search warrant on reports that Jarrod Wells was selling drugs out of his Keizer home.

France was arrested on charges of possession of heroin, methamphetamine and suboxone (an FDA-approved treatment for opiate dependence) and taken to the Marion County jail with a $30,000 bail.

But just a few years ago, France was a beaming teenager and animal lover on her way to compete for Miss Teen United States.

“One of the points we’re trying to make is that most people believe your heroin and controlled substance users are just losers, and that they’re not everyday average or ordinary folks,” said Deputy Chief Jeff Kuhns with Keizer Police. “But what we’re finding out more and more is that they are truly people that came from good lives, and they’ve ruined their lives by becoming involved in these drugs.”

Warehouse Project death: Nick Bonnie died from ecstasy overdose

Posted on: November 20th, 2014 by sobrietyresources

Nick Bonnie died after taking the powdered form of MDMA during a night out in Manchester.

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A coroner has described illegal drug manufacturers as “a heinous blot on our civilisation” at the inquest into the death of a clubber in Manchester. Nick Bonnie, of Stroud, collapsed at The Warehouse Project in Trafford last September after travelling there from Gloucestershire with friends. Blood tests revealed cocaine and high levels of MDMA, the inquest heard. Coroner John Pollard recorded a verdict of death from the non-dependent use of drugs.

Thirty-year-old Mr Bonnie was an occasional drug user and may not have realised how much of the powdered form of the drug he had taken, the inquest in Stockport was told.

‘Cooked up story’
Mr Pollard said illegal drug manufacturers were “morally bankrupt”. Mr Bonnie, a Prince’s Trust worker, had travelled to the nightclub with four friends. The group brought drugs with them, taking them during the car journey, and also in the queue outside the nightclub. They later lied to police, claiming they had bought the drugs at the Warehouse Project. Mr Pollard described their deceit as a “cooked up story” which hindered the police investigation. James Churchill, 31, Dean Neale, 30, Paul Tabb, 31, and Simon Lloyd-Jones, 29, all from Stroud, were later handed suspended jail sentences after admitting perverting the course of justice. Lloyd-Jones, the only member of the group not taking drugs, told the inquest that lying to the police was “the worst mistake I’ve ever made”

Keizer Police arrest three in heroin, meth drug bust

Posted on: November 20th, 2014 by sobrietyresources

STATESMANJOURNAL

In 2009 France was a senior at Redmond High School when she was crowned Miss Teen Utah-Oregon. A press release congratulating her on the victory described her numerous charity activities and a list of hobbies typical of any active Oregon teenager: Reading, writing, hiking, riding bikes and hanging out with friends.

France also emphasized her love of animals and a strong belief in fighting animal abuse, describing an overseas opportunity to volunteer at an endangered tortoise refuge as “an amazing experience.”

Laura Fosmire, Statesman Journal 8:33 a.m. PST November 21, 2014

Jamie France, as shown in a 2009 publicity photo for Miss Teen Utah-Oregon(Photo: Courtesy of Celestial Pageant Productions) She went on to compete at the Miss Teen United States-World Pageant in Houston, Texas in July of 2009. Photographs posted to the pageant blog at the time show a glowing, smiling France posing with fellow contestants.

But at some point between the pageants and her Wednesday arrest, France was involved in a car accident that resulted in a back injury, Kuhns said. “That’s part of her history,” he said. “She was prescribed painkillers and once that ran out, she turned to heroin. It’s a very common story.” It’s what happened to a young man living in West Salem by the name of Alex Buczynski. But Buczynski’s heroin use didn’t lead to an arrest — it ended in his death from an overdose in February.

RELATED: Seeking help for addiction is making a choice for life
The family had no indication that Alex Buczynski was hooked on heroin. But his mother, Megan Buczynski, said Salem Police told her that Alex had become hooked on pain medication following a shoulder surgery. When the pain pills became too expensive, he turned to heroin, cheap and easy to get on the streets.

This pattern is all-too familiar to local police. “We’re seeing more and more of it because there are systems in place now that have made a big impact on pharmacy fraud,” Kuhns explained. “People presenting multiple prescriptions at multiple pharmacies are now being identified or prevented from getting painkillers. So while those systems are well-intentioned, this is part of the fallout we’re seeing. “Some people who became addicted to controlled substances legally prescribed to them at one point are now having to turn to illicit drugs to feed their habit,” he continued. “One of the easiest is heroin.”

[email protected], (503) 399-6709 or follow on Twitter at @fosmirel

Guest Opinion: The disease of addiction knows no prejudice

Posted on: November 18th, 2014 by sobrietyresources

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series of guest opinions looking at the opioid addiction epidemic in Massachusetts. This is the view of a psychiatrist.

By Dr. Jennifer Michaels
Posted Nov. 18, 2014 @ 2:40 pm
Updated Nov 18, 2014 at 4:52 PM

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a series of guest opinions looking at the opioid addiction epidemic in Massachusetts. This is the view of a psychiatrist. Honor student, son, heroin addict, patient. Wife, nurse, heroin possession, convict. Father, Academy Award winner, heroin overdose, deceased. Beneath the tranquil surface of denial lurks a ravenous leviathan, the disease of addiction. Unlike our society, the disease of addiction knows no prejudice. Right now we’re battling a national epidemic. Addiction to heroin and opioid pills has reached levels previously unseen in our state and country. Heroin addiction is so pervasive and severe that Americans are more likely to die of an opioid overdose than a motor vehicle accident. I have been treating people who suffer from the disease of addiction for over 20 years. This is what I’ve learned:

Opioid addiction is a brain disease

People who suffer from heroin addiction have a bad disease; they are not bad people. Heroin hijacks the part of the brain that makes us feel rewarded and happy and erodes our ability to experience natural joy. The addicted brain develops faulty wiring that reinforces harmful, compulsive behaviors. The addict is compelled to use at any cost. Lost jobs, anguished families and broken laws are the byproducts of active addiction. The honor student I now treat had his first exposure to opioid pills after sustaining a sports injury. In addition to dulling his physical pain, the pills generated a sense of carefree calm. Weekend use evolved to daily use. Within months he discovered the pills were essential to his functioning. Without them he couldn’t eat, sleep or concentrate. Unable to secure another prescription or afford the premium of pills on the street, he tried heroin. Initiation to heroin felt less like an option and more like a necessity to avoid the agonizing withdrawal from opioids.

Treatment works

Naysayers recite statistics suggesting that a majority of heroin users relapse after inpatient treatment. However, a treatment program limited to one week of detoxification constitutes inadequate care. We understand that people suffering from diabetes or other chronic illnesses require long-term treatment with regular monitoring. Comprehensive treatment of any chronic disease, including heroin addiction, promotes symptom reduction, remission and resumption of a meaningful life. A frequently cited study compared two groups of heroin users. One group received year-long treatment, the other group received only one week of care. A majority of those in the year-long treatment group stayed sober during the year of monitoring. In contrast, 20 percent of the one-week treated group had died by one year follow-up. Treatment works, but only when it’s appropriate treatment.

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