During a random house check last week, Blaine County Parole Officer Jodi Brown discovered that a 17-year-old former Wood River High School student was using methamphetamine. The student, who had been kicked out of school because of his alleged involvement with drugs, violated the terms of his probation.
Brown said the teenager allegedly bought the drugs on Lollipop Lane in Gannett, the small town south of Bellevue where Brown lives. A search of the youth's home produced a modified light bulb used for smoking a rock of methamphetamine.
"Anytime we have information about drug activity, we share it (with the police) as a matter of public safety," said Teresa Espedal, Blaine County's chief probation officer, who hopes that the community doesn't try to pass the problem off as someone else's. "It's costing millions (nationwide). It's going to affect the (entire) financial picture."
The mission of the Blaine County Probation Department is to put together plans for restoring justice that emphasizes an offender's accountability for his actions, while assisting him in his education and development of skills necessary to function in the community.
Juveniles with drug-related offenses fall under the purview of the department, which has been recognized for its success at using local resources for keeping young people out of the state correction system. But, the state's preference for a diversionary program to help redirect first-time offenders falls short where methamphetamine drug use is involved, said Eric Thomas, a juvenile probation officer with the department, housed in the new Blaine County Annex in downtown Hailey.
"Meth's a different game," Thomas said, adding that although many adults are addicted to the drug, the fact that children are using it is particularly troubling. "It is so fast-acting, so powerful, kids are certainly hurting ... the luxury of experimentation comes at a real high cost ... even the abuser doesn't deny the side effects." The diversion program for juveniles has been in place since 1996. It is typically linked to some kind of community service and restitution for a violation of the law, but Thomas said the department is trying to embrace a method of correction called "restorative justice" that is even more integrated in the community. He said the system has been shown to be effective in more rural communities like Bend, Ore.
"It puts more responsibility on the offender to fix the wrong," Thomas said. "Who's been harmed? How are you going to fix it?"
Thomas said traditional responses and methods for helping an individual get back on track in the community is falling short where methamphetamine use is part of the offense, simply because the drug is so highly addictive.
Treatment for many is elusive, either from a cost factor or when a family support system is lacking, Thomas said. "It takes a long time to heal. Meth corrupts basic human needs. It becomes a substitute."
Despite the power of the drug to control lives, Thomas said rather than drive addicts away from the community, what is essential is that individuals interact and reconnect.
"Some of the education process has started," he said, adding that meth has become a problem for younger people in part because they have seen that some people succeed at being recreational users rather than the full-blown addicts who are advertised in anti-drug campaigns. Kids realize they are not going to die right off the bat.
"There is a natural state of depression when you come off this stuff," Thomas said, stressing again that the key to staying clean is community support and interaction. Meth users with strong family support are much more likely to kick the habit. "It's almost a mandatory part of recovery, but it's not a guarantee."
"There needs to be a cultural change. We need the political leaders here. Everyone spins around looking for the silver bullet."
Rathter than a silver bullet, Thomas suggests that people ask questions like: "What type of community do we want to be? What kinds of relationships are we going to have?"
To emphasize his point, Thomas makes a correlation with Las Vegas, explaining that not everyone lives on the strip in utter hedonism.
"Las Vegas doesn't allow (tourism) to dictate the social norms of their community," Thomas said. "We don't have to be a boring town that no one is willing to come to. (But,) we can't let tourism be the reason for not taking action. Accountability is not there. As a community we can be different. We don't have to be what our visitors are. We can work at policies that will make us a vibrant healthy resort community."
Sticking to their guns, the probation team at the Blaine County Probation Department is working toward establishing a restorative justice program for juvenile and adult offenders who have injured themselves and the community. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Jodi Brown, Jodie Fuller, Teresa Espedal and Eric Thomas is finding ways to support the recovery of offenders suffering from methamphetamine addiction and help them reintegrate in the community. Photo by David N. Seelig
