November 21, 2014

Jamie France in an earlier DMV photo, left, and her arrest mug shot, right(Photo: Courtesy of Keizer Police)
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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.”