HARD DRUGS STEAL SOME OF ASHEVILLE'S LUSTER; LET'S BOLDLY ATTACK AND DEFEAT
DEALERS

In June of 2002, Maxine Huband learned that her brother, Asheville
pharmacist Doug Smith, had been brutally murdered in a restaurant parking
lot with two gunshot wounds to his chest.

Recently, through a persistent, enthusiastic and resource-demanding
process, our city's police department arrested a suspect for this crime.

Early indications are that this person, a hard-drug user, murdered Smith
because the pharmacist had stepped forward to report him for "doctor
shopping" as an illegal means of obtaining drugs.

Last week, four courageous students acted out their version of the struggle
that many young African-American men face in running the gauntlet of drugs,
violence, crime, lost dreams and other social ills of our times.

Their play, under the guidance of director David Mitchell - "What About the
Four?" - represents an admirable effort to shine a bright light on the
catastrophic impact of hard drugs on our youth.

Their central message offers a sobering call for action - one in five
African-American males in our community will become addicted to hard drugs,
be jailed or otherwise adjudicated, or die prematurely as a direct or
indirect result of hard drug exposures.

In his thoughtful April 24 commentary, "We have the power to help abused
children, but we have to use it," AC-T Executive Editor Robert Gabordi
called for dedicated community action against child abuse.

Gabordi highlighted the death of infant Gabriel Duckett as a victim of
patterned child abuse.

With an official complaint history that ran from his 17th day of his brief
life until his last at 20 months, little Gabriel apparently lived in a home
where hard drugs distorted his parent's role from life givers to life takers.

Gabriel's tragedy is symbolic of a parade of destruction that too often
finds child abuse and hard drugs thriving in a marriage of terror and harm.

The Problem

Hard drugs touch the lives of every single man and woman in Asheville. We
find that touch not only in the heart wrenching stories and statistics
noted above, but in the daily impact on our economy, quality of life and
personal safety. It has been estimated that 80 percent of the crimes in our
community are directly or indirectly connected to drugs.

Our school retention rate for minority male students is tragic and results
in an endless manpower pool for unscrupulous drug dealers who can offer an
enticing alternative to minimum-wage jobs.

Hard drugs can be purchased in Asheville at any time of day. Our hospitals
spend an astounding amount of resources providing a revolving door for
addicts who seek "time out" over the more demanding responsibilities of
recovery, and then plunge back into the predatory world of drug addiction.
There are far too many places, in public housing and neighborhoods
throughout our city, where children are witnesses to a carnival of dealers
and users who commit their bold exchanges with the impunity of those who
fear no challenge.

The Solution

It is time for Asheville to say "No more" to hard drugs.

It is past time for our community to step forward with the courage and
example of pharmacist Doug Smith and say "No - this is wrong and I will not
look away from the harm." To succeed we will have to be willing to offend,
to work and to risk. A look over our shoulders tells us it is far too easy
to accept, to wait, to deny as long as this issue doesn't threaten us or
our neighborhoods too directly. It's OK to ignore the fact that too many
good people in our community's public housing, neighborhoods and downtown
are living in a state of fear and siege because evil always seeks the
safety of isolation, intimidation and darkness.

Hard-drug dealers and users from the outside are active in all parts of our
community because we aren't. We must more dramatically respond to our city
government's number one charge - the public safety. In doing so we can lay
a foundation from which a larger community effort toward education,
treatment, drug screening, community service and other interventions can
emerge.

It is time to dedicate our time, energy, and resources to an enthusiastic
program of public safety that finds Asheville getting hard on hard drugs.

The Plan

Hard-drug dealers are persistent, and to beat them we will have to be more
so. If we do not dedicate sufficient resources to this undertaking, we will
fail. Effective hard-drug intervention requires community and
relationship-based policing, and that takes manpower.

A program of substance will have to cover our entire community all hours of
the day with a level of service that exceeds that of those who deal drugs.

There is a need for a "Hard Drug Intervention Task Force" dedicated to
keeping our feet to the fire. We have to work closely with our schools,
employers and helping services. Our legislators will be asked to search for
ways to support and strengthen our court system.

But at the root of it all, we will have to support our police in rapidly
going after distributors, dealers and buyers wherever they go or thrive in
our community.

There must be no place in Asheville where a person can deal or buy hard
drugs without fear.

Arguments calling for nine months of research, statistical analysis and
program development have artificially impaired council's ability to face
this tough policy and budget decision this year. This is not a matter of
personal discord between council members.

It is a matter of differing perspectives and priorities. We believe that
our city's police, with their wealth of knowledge, experience and
expertise, can readily define our hard-drug problems and initial strategies
for intervention. We have to give them the money, manpower and mandate to
ensure their ability to succeed.

To do so will require a leaner budget from some city departments. There
will be less discretionary money for staff and council to invest in other
community interests. With the strong revenue picture for the coming year,
no tax increases are remotely necessary.

It is past time for the city of Asheville to say "No more" to hard drugs.

We ask your support as we continue to debate and explore our
responsibilities to address our hard-drug problem as a part of this year's
budget development process.

With your help this council can embrace the wisdom of Thomas Watson -
"Solve it, solve it now, and if wrong, solve it again." With your help we
can answer the haunting questions; If not now - when? If not us - who?

Joe Dunn and Carl Mumpower currently serve on Asheville City Council.
Mumpower is also vice mayor.