MORE POLICE ARE NEEDED TO FIGHT CRACK EPIDEMIC

There's A Crack Cocaine Epidemic In Huntington, And The City's Artisan
Avenue Is Its Epicenter.

Police say an outsized share of their recent drug busts have taken place in
the 1600 block of Artisan or just around the corner from it.

Artisan once was a nice neighborhood. That was before crack arrived on the
local scene. Now, the out-of-town drug dealers and their local stooges have
taken over.

"Nobody wants to live here," complains one Artisan resident, surely
speaking for many.

There are those who argue that drug abuse is a "victimless crime." They
couldn't be more wrong. Police say that since 1999, nearly half of the
city's 21 murders have been connected to drugs and that "nearly every
burglary in town can be attributed to crack."

At the top of the food chain in the city's crack trade are the out-of-town
dealers who come here because there's less competition than in big cities
like Detroit. With less competition, dealers can price their crack higher
here. Moreover, here there's less chance of getting shot by a rival dealer.

For years, the Artisan drug trade flourished under cover of darkness. But
today it's so widespread that it's not unusual to see a deal going down in
broad daylight.

That's what happens when a city lays off many of its police officers and
closes down its drug unit.

Fortunately, that's changing. Today, the city's drug unit is back in
business and is making progress in attacking the drug trade. But the bottom
line is that Huntington needs more police officers -- and they're needed,
not shuffling papers at headquarters, but out working the streets.

No community can simply allow the drug dealers to take over a neighborhood.
Yet, this is exactly what has happened on Artisan Avenue. That can't be
allowed to continue.