DRUG WAR, WARRANTS DISCUSSED AT NAACP EVENT

America's drug problems have changed in the last 20 years. In the
1970s and '80s, drugs mostly came to the U.S. via air from Latin and
South America. Now teenagers and adults can make methamphetamines from
their homes. Small-time dealers are common in big cities and little
towns like Eufaula.

Twenty years ago it seemed that only the unpopular kids used
drugs.

Now, "to be popular, you have to be a person messing with the drugs,"
Eufaula Police Department Investigator Ronnie Dollar said.

"The drug war has changed so much over the years," he said to several
dozen citizens attending an awareness forum sponsored by Barbour
County NAACP. The forum occurred Sunday evening at the Eufaula
Courthouse. Several local law enforcement officials spoke to the large
crowd which ranged from young children to senior citizens. Sgt. Dana
Glanton of the Eufaula Police Department, Sheriff Leroy Upshaw,
Investigator Lee Hamm of the Barbour County District Attorney's Office
and Circuit Judge Burt Smithart were among those participating in the
forum.

Much of the evening was spent discussing how warrants are issued, the
presentation of cases and the prosecution of offenders. However, some
of the most impassioned comments came during and after Dollar's speech
on local drug use.

Dollar said the community must unify to fight drugs. He added that
drugs are not limited by race, economic status or other factors.

"There are drugs in every community," he said.

He said it is not uncommon now to see teenagers and young adults
addicted to pills and OxyContin.

"We're seeing that every day," he said.

Those selling drugs-particularly to kids and teenagers-should be
punished severely, Dollar said.

"Someone that is addicted to drugs is sick. Someone that sells drugs
to young people needs to be put in jail."

Dollar said faith-based programs "work" and can deter individuals from
relapsing.

"You have to replace that drug with God," he said. "There are
faith-based programs we can get them into for a small amount of money."

NAACP branch president Rev. Allen Forte said parents and other adults
are key players in the drug war as well.

"The sheriff's department is doing what they need to
do.

The police department is doing what they need to do. But what are we
doing?" he asked. "We have to come together and stand up for what is
right."

He added the sheriff's department and the local NAACP branch are
working together to possibly sponsor a drug awareness forum in
February or March.

Issuing warrants

Before Dollar's speech, Upshaw talked for several minutes about what
is required to serve a warrant.

"We have to have probable cause. We have to sign an affidavit," he
said. "It has to be reviewed by a judge, and the judge has to sign. He
looks at it closely."

Upshaw explained the difference between "knock and no knock warrants."
The latter can be used if there are fears that drugs or other evidence
would be disposed of quickly if law enforcement officials knocked on
the door, or if weapons could be involved.

"On a search warrant, it will have what we're coming for," Upshaw
said. "If we have a car (on the warrant) we can't come into the house
and open the drawer looking for a car."

When asked whether law enforcement officers leave what they searched
in disarray, Upshaw said he instructs officers to use good judgment.

"I try to tell my guys not to destroy it...You need to put it back
like you found it."

Smithart also talked about his role in approving warrants, saying
there are times he instructs officers to go to the house or location
at specific times.

"The law enforcement officers and I will sit down, and I will give
them parameters where they can execute that search warrant. I don't
want them to go in the house and frighten the children," he said.

The judge said there are times he required an officer to "stand in the
woods and watch a house for days" for proof that a warrant is needed.

Smithart also encouraged those in attendance to take part in jury duty
if called upon. He said more people are asking to be excused for jury
duty.

He reminded them that employers are required to pay them should they
serve on a jury.

"You would want people like you to come and give a little bit of their
time to help decide the case," he said. "Once you walk in (the
courtroom) in front of the 12, they're supposed to level it out and
make sure the right thing is done."

Forte said Sunday's forum was about education. "The Bible says, 'My
people perish for lack of knowledge'," he said.