POT-FIGHTING AGENCY IN APPALACHIA BROADENS ITS SCOPE TO OTHER DRUGS

LONDON A program set up to fight marijuana production in Appalachia has
broadened its mission because of exploding problems with methamphetamine
and the abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin.

Directors of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area recently
voted to expand its focus from marijuana to multiple drugs. The
organization was the only one in the United States created specifically to
target marijuana, but problems with other drugs justified a change,
officials said.

"The HIDTA program has acknowledged that Eastern Kentucky is plagued by
more than just marijuana," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West, who
prosecutes cases with the program.

Appalachia HIDTA is an umbrella organization one of more than 25 in the
country designed to coordinate anti-drug efforts by federal, state and
local police agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the U.S. Forest Service and state police. The London-based
program helps with information gathering and analysis, and provides federal
funding.

Congress designated a 65-county area in Eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee
and West Virginia as a high-intensity drug-trafficking area in 1998 because
the region is one of the largest pot producers in the country.

Last year, for example, Kentucky State Police destroyed more than 460,000
outdoor marijuana plants in the state; more than two-thirds of those were
in the 26 Kentucky counties covered by the program.

The reality, though, is that the region has a larger drug problem.

Police are concerned about methamphetamine production moving into Eastern
Kentucky and Tennessee.

The drug, called speed or crank, can be cooked up with products available
at retail stores. It is a powerful stimulant, but can also cause violent
behavior and serious health problems.

In 1998, police found 36 meth labs in the area; the number jumped to 93
last year, said Dave Gilbert, deputy director of the program.

Abuse of OxyContin, a prescription synthetic morphine, also has grown in
the area the last two years, contributing to overdose deaths and crimes
such as theft and fraud by people trying to get the drug.

Police arrested more than 200 people in February on charges related to
OxyContin. It was the largest drug roundup in Kentucky history.

A task force appointed by Gov. Paul Patton has studied ways to reduce
OxyContin abuse, but has not issued a final report.

Gilbert said HIDTA has participated in investigations of meth and
prescription narcotics in the last three years when the cases had ties to
marijuana.

Now, the program won't have to look for those ties to justify a
non-marijuana investigation.

"It's going to make the mission a lot clearer," said Scott Barker,
supervisory special agent for the FBI offices in London and Pikeville.

Marijuana will remain the primary focus of the Appalachia HIDTA, said
Director Roy Sturgill. But the new "polydrug" designation will make the
agency more flexible and allow it to spend money on training and equipment
to deal with drugs besides marijuana, Sturgill said.

The move also will allow money for drug buys unrelated to pot.

Right now, whatever work HIDTA takes on under the multi-drug focus will
come out of its existing $6 million annual budget, but the designation
could mean more money in future budgets, Sturgill said.