COCAINE CROSSROADS

North Carolina's convenient location on the Atlantic seaboard has made the
state a popular East Coast distribution center for a wide array of
businesses. Interstate highways mean that major population centers from New
York to Cleveland to Tampa are within a feasible day's drive. Yet the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration says a combination of easy highway
access and isolated rural areas has enticed major drug dealers to use the
state as a handy transshipment point for illegal drugs headed to major
cities from Mexico and Central America. It may be tempting for local law
enforcement to focus on hometown crime while leaving the fight against
major drug trafficking to the feds. A better and more effective strategy
would be a combined assault utilizing the manpower and expertise of
small-town police officers and deputies who know their local areas, as well
as working with federal agents who are able to track the major players
across state and national borders.

Distribution centers like North Carolina can also become effective choke
points for the drug trade. By aggressively going after those who move their
illicit cargo through the state, the supply of drugs on the streets of our
small towns is reduced.

There already have been notable successes. Several local law enforcement
agencies have anti-drug teams that concentrate on the major highways
passing through their area.

Given Americans' appetite for illegal drugs, it is unlikely that the drug
business will ever go belly up. The effort to combat it will continue to
have a few successes and too many casualties. Yet North Carolina is now
poised to become a major battleground in that struggle. Coordination and
cooperation are the best weapons we can bring to the fight.