DRUG TASK FORCE CAN APPLY FOR GRANT

County Commissioners Approve Grant; Danish Objects To 'War On Drugs'

The Boulder County Drug Task Force got the OK on Tuesday to apply for a
federal grant to continue its crackdown on drugs next year, but one
commissioner again objected to the agency's work.

"I'm no longer voting for the War on Drugs," Commissioner Paul Danish said.

The county's drug task force was formed in 1998 to attack street-level
dealing and the distribution and manufacture of illicit drugs.

Participating in the task force are several law enforcement agencies,
including the Boulder County Sheriff's Department, District Attorney's
Office, and police departments in Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette,
Broomfield, Erie and the University of Colorado.

On Tuesday, sheriff's Lt. Jim Smith, the task force commander, asked the
commissioners for permission to apply for a $311,912 grant from the Division
of Criminal Justice. The grant, which the group has received in the past,
represents about 30 percent of the agency's total funding.

The task force gets the rest of its funding from participating agencies.

The county commissioners approved the grant application 2-1 with Danish
objecting.

Danish, who supports the legalization of marijuana, said he believes the
task force's work infringes on civil liberties and the money could be
better spent elsewhere.

"Is Boulder County safer because $311,000 will be spent chasing pot
smokers?" he said. "Or would it be safer if $311,000 were spent fighting
burglaries?"

Danish said the United States has spent more than $100 billion on the drug
war but that drug use nationwide has continued to increase.

Smith said the agency does not target a particular kind of drug, but he
noted that marijuana and powder cocaine surface more than other drugs in the
arrest totals. He said he wasn't surprised by the comments from Danish, who
opposed the formation of the task force.

"I know his stance on that fairly well," Smith said.

Commissioner Jana Mendez said she supports the task force because it aims to
stem illegal activities. She said she didn't share Danish's objections.

"It's his fight, not mine," Mendez said.

In the first full year of its operation, the task force made 190 arrests and
had 450 open investigations. In the first quarter of the second year -- the
most recent statistics --there were 41 arrests.

"We're on track with what we did last year," Smith said.