CRACK PROBLEM WORSENING IN IRONTON

Out-Of-Town Drug Dealers Becoming More Prevalent, Local Officials Say

IRONTON -- Though it's a small town nestled along the river in rural
southern Ohio, Ironton is facing a big-city problem.

Half of the drug trafficking arrests -- or 13 of 26 -- in the Ironton area
in the last seven months have been suspects from the Columbus area, and
most of those cases involved crack cocaine, said Lawrence County Sheriff
Tim Sexton. A Lawrence County grand jury indicted four Columbus residents
earlier this month on drug charges, and one defendant from Columbus was
sentenced to 16 years in prison on a crack cocaine-related drug conviction.

"They're hitting the little cities and it's getting worse," said Ironton
Police Chief Bill Garland. "We're limited as to what we can do. Most times
we have only two officers working per shift."

With the weather starting to turn warmer, some local residents, including
the Rev. Richard Carter of Ironton, are worried the drug problem will get
worse, especially in the area near a community park at South 9th and
Madison Streets.

"A number of elderly people are concerned about the drug trafficking,"
Carter said. "A lot of it is being done on the street corners. It gets
worse in the summer. More people need to speak out and take it to the
authorities."

Carter said a number of local residents have called a drug hotline to
report suspicious activity and possible drug trafficking. They will
continue calling, he said. "We're going to be watchful."

David Marcum, an investigator for the Lawrence County prosecutor's office
and a member of a local drug task force, said those tips, which can be made
anonymously, have made a difference.

"A big portion of our arrests comes from tips from the public," he said.

But Sexton said the Lawrence County Drug Task Force needs more funding to
be able to handle those tips. He said he will seek an increase in funds
next month. Sexton plans to seek an additional $25,000 to $30,000 for the
task force, which currently functions on an annual budget of $72,000.

Sexton said the out-of-town dealers are drawn to areas like Ironton because
there is less competition and higher profits.

"People are coming in from out of town, primarily Columbus, but also from
Detroit and other larger cities," he said.

The drug dealers often get local residents to let them use their houses to
operate out of in return for illegal drugs, Sexton said.

"Crack cocaine is highly addictive," he said. "Crack cocaine has been
around for awhile, but it's become more prevalent in the last few years.
Most recently we had a problem with the abuse of prescription medications,
but we've seen a drastic increase in that after several doctors were
indicted. Now we're seeing a major increase in trafficking in crack cocaine."

The impact of the increased drug activity reaches beyond the sellers and
buyers, Sexton said.

"Abuse of drugs and alcohol leads to 75 to 85 percent of our crime
problems," Sexton said. "A lot of our shoplifters are drug addicts. A lot
of our burglars are drug addicts. A lot of our armed robbers are drug addicts."

Another concern from local law enforcement is that the drug dealers are
carrying weapons. "We haven't seen a case in the last few months where a
gun wasn't involved," he said. "That's a safety concern for us."