Cheyenne Substance Abuse Panel Discussion Slated For Wednesday

Cheyenne City Councilman Richard Johnson has organized a panel discussion on substance abuse issues in the community.

The event is slated for Wednesday night between 6 and 9 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library.

Johnson has invited Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak as well as the Laramie County Coroner's Office and Laramie County District Attorney to take part in the discussion.

Johnson says one of the topics slated for discussion is the Laramie County Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEADS program, which has been operating since 2018. Johnson says a report on that program recently highlighted the success of a dozen people who had gone through that program and who now have jobs and are functioning members of the community.

Johnson says he is frustrated by media coverage in the area that focuses on people being arrested for drug offenses, but little follow-up reporting is done on those cases, including situations where the charges may have been dropped.

Local Crime Is Often Related To Substance Abuse

He adds he has been following the local arrest records for the past year or so, and one thing that jumps out is how often crimes for such things as domestic violence or burglary seem to have a substance abuse component.

The event is free and open to the public, and people will be able to ask questions. Johnson does caution that no questions about open or ongoing investigations will be addressed.

Johnson was the guest on the ''Weekend In Wyoming''  on AM 650 KGAB on Saturday, discussing the forum. You can hear that interview in the audio file attached to this article.