MORE UNITY PLEDGED IN ANTI-DRUG BATTLE

Review Criticized Joint Program In Appalachia

LEXINGTON, Ky. - U.S. Attorney Greg Van Tatenhove yesterday promised a
"new beginning" in the coordination of local, state and federal
law-enforcement efforts to combat drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky.

Van Tatenhove, chairman of the Appalachia High-Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area's executive board, said the program plans to fund
more comprehensive task forces instead of spending money on isolated
anti-drug efforts.

"It's a huge change in terms of philosophical approach," said Van
Tatenhove, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The Appalachia program, formed in 1998 and based in London, Ky., has a
$6 million budget and covers a three-state area that includes 26
Eastern Kentucky counties.

A 2002 review by the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy said the program had failed to achieve a key goal of bringing
police agencies together in a unified battle against drug traffickers.

Van Tatenhove, speaking at a news conference during the program's
annual conference in Lexington, said he hoped to create a more
strategic approach. He said police agencies would no longer receive
program resources without being part of a task force.

"We're trying to bring all players together," he said.

Part of that strategy, Van Tatenhove said, includes working with a
newly formed federal program called Operation UNITE - for Unlawful
Narcotics Investigation Treatment and Education.

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, whose 5th District includes 29 Eastern Kentucky
counties, obtained $8million in funding for Operation UNITE, which was
launched last year and targets street-level drug dealers.

Appearing with Van Tatenhove was Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who also is
Gov. Ernie Fletcher's Justice Cabinet secretary. He said federal
resources would play a significant role in the state's law-enforcement
efforts.

Pence recently outlined the administration's overall plan to combat
drugs, which includes creating additional drug courts, putting more
drug offenders in treatment instead of prison, and eliminating a
backlog at state police crime laboratories.

"What we want to do is do things better, do things more efficiently
and more effectively," he said yesterday.

Pence said the biggest challenges facing drug enforcement and
treatment stem from prescription-drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky and a
growing methamphetamine problem throughout the state.

Van Tatenhove said complex and organized methamphetamine operations
have begun to sprout in the state, in addition to a growing number of
small-scale operations. He also said "vast amounts" of marijuana are
being grown in national forests and on private land in Kentucky.

The Appalachia anti-drug program was formed because the region is one
of the nation's top marijuana producers. It has since added
trafficking of prescription pills and other drugs to its focus.