During a Marshall County Community Corrections advisory board meeting Thursday afternoon, Director Ward Byers shared that officials have witnessed a shift in what’s frequently coming up on failed drug screens.
He noted, “Our opioid crisis while it’s still out there and while people are still using opioids, whether it’s a pill or whether it’s shooting up heroin, it’s still out there but meth is certainly the issue in Marshall County.”
He added that oftentimes, marijuana is also found alongside methamphetamine with a failed drug screen.
Director Byers mentioned that Marshall County isn’t the only community that’s experiencing this shift. He said he received some information that was consistent with what they are seeing during a recent Indiana Jail Overcrowding Taskforce meeting in Anderson.
He stated, “That same information came out that across the state they’re seeing less heroin in rural counties, they’re still seeing a significant amount of heroin in larger metropolitan counties but what they’re seeing is rural counties are back seeing meth and not so much heroin.”
Judge Dean Colvin asked if there was any indication of whether the meth was being manufactured within the county. Director Byers, responded that it’s coming from elsewhere.
Byers explained, “I don’t think law enforcement has seen a meth lab or disabled a meth lab in probably three years. It’s all coming in, it’s all being purchased.”
Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel agreed with that statement. Byers added that the Community Corrections clients tend to be pretty open about their drug use and have reported that it is being bought from outside sources and it’s more potent than in the past
Director Byers noted that they still see a spattering of heroin issues but that drug isn’t showing up within the Community Corrections system as frequently as it was about a year or so ago.
