MAKE NO MISTAKE, IT CAN HAPPEN CLOSE TO YOUR HOME

The day before Thanksgiving, the Drug Enforcement Administration
arrested one of my neighbors for possession and sale of
methamphetamine. Also removed from the premises with all of the other
assorted evidence was a very young, barefoot and scared child who was
taken to the Polinsky Center. Just another drug arrest to be added to
the sum that happens every day, in every jurisdiction, throughout San
Diego County and across the nation.

The house in question is diagonal from my home, literally a stone's
throw from my driveway. I live in an older area of both rented and
owner-occupied homes, just outside the El Cajon city limits. Nothing
fancy here, just modest homes of working class and retired people.

The relationship among the neighbors is very casual; an off-hand wave
as you get into the car to leave for work, or the exchange of a few
quick pleasantries over the fence before getting on with the business
of the day. Perhaps if we had taken the time to speak sooner to one
another about the strange activity we all observed going on and called
the Meth Hotline, the illicit activity and the danger it presented
could have been curtailed earlier.

I guess to some, a drug arrest is not a surprising event. Other
people's drug use/abuse is something that many people tolerate and
even accept. I was shocked -- which is saying a great deal, since I
have worked for the San Diego County Methamphetamine Strike Force for
the last two years. A large part of my job has been to go out and talk
to people about this very issue. I sure didn't expect to find it so
close to my own home.

I had observed firsthand many of the behaviors I have talked to
countless community groups about; excessive automobile traffic that
stayed only a few minutes, odd hours and the furtive actions of the
people living there. Yet I did not make the call that ultimately
resulted in Wednesday's arrest. Why?

Because I thought I was being overly suspicious and seeing meth labs
and drug dealers everywhere. I did not trust that little, inner voice
that kept whispering to me that there was something amiss here.

Many people are of the opinion that someone else's drug use should be
no one's concern but their own. However, just like we have come to
realize that there is an effect on non-smokers by secondhand smoke,
there is also a secondhand effect to someone else's drug use.

Meth use turns formerly loving and caring parents, kids, neighbors and
friends into suspicious, paranoid, and ultimately, very unhappy and
potentially dangerous people. Parents or caregivers engaged in meth
manufacture expose children and others to chemical hazards that
legally require the clean up crew to wear protective clothing, not to
mention the risk of explosion or fire. Someone else's decision to
become engaged in illegal activity exposes countless people
unwittingly to dangerous situations and desperate people.

The cost to the taxpayer is enormous -- in San Diego County alone, it
is estimated that the cost of alcohol and drug abuse is $1.8 billion
annually.

Also affected but much harder to quantify, is the personal sense of
well-being and security that is felt within the confines of your own
home. That personal sense of safety should exist whether you rent or
own -- it is still your home, your sanctuary.

In a post Sept. 11 world, it becomes even more important that we pay
attention to what is happening around us. Terrorists from foreign
countries may try to inflict harm intentionally. Drug dealers and
manufacturers also inflict harm on others. If you don't believe this
to be true, I remind you again, of the toddler removed from a drug
endangered environment on the day before Thanksgiving. That innocent
child is a victim of a crime and deserves to be protected from harm at
any cost.

There are some things that you can do to protect yourself and your
family. Contact your local law enforcement agency crime prevention
unit and ask about Neighborhood Watch or other anti-crime environment
programs. Call 1-877-No-2-METH or on the Internet at www.No2METH.org
and report suspicious drug related activity. The Meth Hotline and Web
site are confidential ways of reporting drug activity that protects
your identity. You can also obtain a referral to a drug treatment
program if one is needed.

Get to know your neighbors and watch out for each other's homes and
property. This simple act can deter numerous problems. We need to let
the bad guys know that we, as a neighborhood and community, will no
longer tolerate illegal drug activity.