By: Dylan Ray Major
The drug problem in Buckhannon is a big issue. What you are about to read is the issue from a police officer’s perspective.
The drug problem in Buckhannon may not seem like a big deal because it is such a small town, but it is bigger than most people know and or realize. I have first-hand experience with this problem because I am a police officer here in Buckhannon and I have seen the issues that come along with drug use. In Buckhannon, the main drugs that people are hooked on are methamphetamine, PCP, heroin, crack, fentanyl, and opioids (pills).
Photo Taken by: Dylan Ray Major at the Buckhannon Police Department
Issues that come along with using these drugs are possible overdose, death, and different types of mental effects. An issue we have as police officers with these people high on drugs is that you never know how they will react to you. When these users are high they will react in many different ways, one being cooperative, while the next person will cuss and rip you to shreds and not be compliant. Something that we officers get trained on is that we always try to calm the situation down the best we can when dealing with someone under the influence.
Many of our arrests and people that we deal with are drug users in the community. The vast majority of these people are homeless and honestly are looking to go to jail because they know they will have food and a place to sleep.
Whenever we do drug interdiction (where we look for drugs), we serve drug warrants. We are trying to find/ get these people out of here so we can minimize the drug issue here. This is because if we take out someone, the higher dealers then will slow the drug problem down. After we get the drugs, we package them up and get them sent to the testing lab which is located in Charleston, West Virginia.
Here in Buckhannon, there are many resources for these people who are addicted to drugs. One is, if someone is addicted and wants to get clean, they can go to St. Joseph’s Hospital. They can check in and say that they want to get clean to be transported to rehab to get clean. Another resource that we have is free NARCAN which is encouraged that every officer carries while on duty in case of an emergency. The only downfall to this is that many of these users do not want help because they think that they are too far gone.
Whenever we arrest someone for drug use and or possession of hard drugs, it’s not to get them in trouble, it is to help them get better. Here in Buckhannon, the type of policing we do is called community policing. This means we are here to help the community rather than jump to conclusions and just take people away or write them tickets.
Every day at the police department, we are trying to find new ways to help these people out and get them clean and off the streets.
THE PHAROS 
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