Laura Fosmire

Statesman Journal

This story was originally published 11/20/2014.

A former beauty pageant contestant's arrest on drug charges underscores a chilling pattern of drug abuse that police say they see time and time again among young people in the Salem-Keizer area.

Jamie France, 23, was found by Keizer Police in a Salem hotel room on Wednesday as they were executing a search warrant on reports that Jarrod Wells was selling drugs out of his Keizer home.

France was arrested on charges of possession of heroin, methamphetamine and suboxone (an FDA-approved treatment for opiate dependence) and taken to the Marion County jail with a $30,000 bail.

But just a few years ago, France was a beaming teenager and animal lover on her way to compete for Miss Teen United States.

"One of the points we're trying to make is that most people believe your heroin and controlled substance users are just losers, and that they're not everyday average or ordinary folks," said Deputy Chief Jeff Kuhns with Keizer Police. "But what we're finding out more and more is that they are truly people that came from good lives, and they've ruined their lives by becoming involved in these drugs."

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In 2009 France was a senior at Redmond High School when she was crowned Miss Teen Utah-Oregon. A press release congratulating her on the victory described her numerous charity activities and a list of hobbies typical of any active Oregon teenager: Reading, writing, hiking, riding bikes and hanging out with friends.

France also emphasized her love of animals and a strong belief in fighting animal abuse, describing an overseas opportunity to volunteer at an endangered tortoise refuge as "an amazing experience."

She went on to compete at the Miss Teen United States-World Pageant in Houston, Texas in July of 2009. Photographs posted to the pageant blog at the time show a glowing, smiling France posing with fellow contestants.

But at some point between the pageants and her Wednesday arrest, France was involved in a car accident that resulted in a back injury, Kuhns said.

"That's part of her history," he said. "She was prescribed painkillers and once that ran out, she turned to heroin. It's a very common story."

It's what happened to a young man living in West Salem by the name of Alex Buczynski. But Buczynski's heroin use didn't lead to an arrest — it ended in his death from an overdose in February.

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The family had no indication that Alex Buczynski was hooked on heroin. But his mother, Megan Buczynski, said Salem Police told her that Alex had become hooked on pain medication following a shoulder surgery. When the pain pills became too expensive, he turned to heroin, cheap and easy to get on the streets.

This pattern is all-too familiar to local police.

"We're seeing more and more of it because there are systems in place now that have made a big impact on pharmacy fraud," Kuhns explained. "People presenting multiple prescriptions at multiple pharmacies are now being identified or prevented from getting painkillers. So while those systems are well-intentioned, this is part of the fallout we're seeing.

"Some people who became addicted to controlled substances legally prescribed to them at one point are now having to turn to illicit drugs to feed their habit," he continued. "One of the easiest is heroin."

lfosmire@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6709 or follow on Twitter at @fosmirel