Medford, Ore. — The Rogue Valley has been dealing with a drug problem for quite some time now, but shocking statistics from the Medford Police Department reveal drug arrests have nearly doubled in the last decade.
NBC5’s Natalie Weber went on a ride along with police — just 20 minutes into the patrol, Office Jacques Morlet stopped a man on the street who had drugs in his possession.
“I asked him if he had any residue or methamphetamine, and he admitted to having a baggy with residue, and also methamphetamine on his person,” Officer Morlet said.
That’s not all Officer Morlet found when he searched the man– he says he also found heroin.
NBC5 News requested statistics from the Medford Police Department, and found that in the last 10 years, drug arrests have nearly doubled. Deputy Chief Brett Johnson said that’s not surprising.
“The drug trafficking organizations that were moving meth at such large quantities, they have the logistics in place to move meth, it’s just adding to the load when you move heroin,” Johnson said. “So I think they’ve been pretty opportunistic to use heroin to get folks addicted, and to create a new drug trade that’s pretty prevalent right now.”
Deputy Chief Johnson has worked as a gang street-drug investigator, and now oversees MADGE, the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Team. He’s witnessed the change in the Rogue Valley drug scene firsthand.
“It was almost all meth, we had some cocaine, and just a really small smattering of heroin, it was a really obscure drug in that day,” Johnson said. “Over the last ten years though, the onset of heroin has really increased the amount of folks that are becoming addicted.”
According to Johnson, the drugs are coming from Central California and Mexico– now here in the Rogue Valley, impacting our residents– and as a result, driving up our crime rate.
“People need to get their fix,” Morlet said. “The quickest thing to do is to go and break into a car, steal a wallet, steal a stereo, or a purse, and they sell it on the street, and get money and get their fix.”
Seeing this trend, police have countered.
“Trying to get kids to look at decision opportunities, to stay out of, not only gangs, but also drugs and any other bad habits,” Johnson said. “We have the MADGE unit, so there’s certainly a lot more enforcement going on as well.”
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