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Local officials sites meth as a growing problem in Taylor County

April 23, 2018, Nicki Skinner, Mountain Statesman

GRAFTON— By now most of us are aware that the nation, state and community are in a situation where drug use overdoses and crime related to drugs are on the rise. While the nation and state are grappling with an ever-growing opioid problem, one local official sites another menace for the Taylor County Community.

According to Taylor County Prosecutor John Bord, it is currently not an opioid problem that the area’s residents are facing, but rather the influx of methamphetamine.

“Meth has become the drug of choice in Taylor County,” he voiced.

Bord reported that this year, the Taylor County Circuit Court has been inundated with cases involving drug components.

84 felony cases have been filed in Circuit Court since January 1. 80 percent, or 75, of those cases have a drug component. Additionally, there have been 58 child abuse and neglect cases filed since January 1, and 46 of those cases involved the use of drugs by parents.

Although there are the occasional arrests made where individuals are charged with the manufacture of methamphetamine, Bord disclosed that many of the area’s users and dealers are receiving the drug from surrounding areas including Fairmont, Morgantown and Clarksburg.

“When the legislature cracked down on the sale of ephedrine in stores, we in law enforcement saw a drastic reduction in people making it by the shake and bake method,” he shared.

“Additionally, meth is becoming more and more available as a result of the international drug trade that is coming out of Mexico.”

Those factors, in addition to meth being cheaper to buy than make, has led to an increase in the drug’s usage within the community.

Bord sites an increase in violent crimes associated with methamphetamine usage. He shared that individuals who are under the effects of the drug are often more paranoid and willing to fight.

Read more here.