August 4th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

An officer with the Maryland State Police for 26 years, Jim Pyles led the narcotics investigation division of the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit (C3I) for several years and found himself on the streets among those who were battling against opioid addiction.  Now retired from the Maryland State Police, Pyles is working as director of safety and security for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In that capacity, he continues to fight the growing drug epidemic.  Among some of the more alarming statistics Pyles can site- 18% of newborns in Allegany County are born drug dependent.  Education, he maintains, is the key to fighting back against heroin…