U.S. DECLARES CENTRAL VALLEY A DRUG TRAFFICKING ZONE

Funding: Region From Bakersfield To Sacramento - 'Epicenter' Of The
Nation's Methamphetamine Industry - Will Receive Extra Federal Aid To
Battle The Problem.

WASHINGTON - California's sprawling Central Valley, long renowned for its
agriculture business, earned a new and more dubious distinction Tuesday
from federal authorities: the "epicenter" of the nation's growing
methamphetamine industry.

Mexican controlled methamphetamine "super labs" have grown so prevalent in
the valley that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has
named a nine county region there one of five "high intensity" trafficking
zones in need of special attention.

The designation means that the Central Valley could get as much as $2.5
million a year in federal funds, plus extra law enforcement tools, to
combat a dramatic rise in methamphetamine shipments from the valley to
other regions and states. Since Southern California, San Diego and the Bay
Area already have achieved "high intensity" status, much of California from
the Mexican border to San Francisco is now considered a drug trafficking
zone. There are 31 zones nationwide.

Other zones announced Tuesday were Hawaii, a frequent stopover for high
grade heroin and other drugs from Asia; New England, a popular pipeline for
East Coast drug smugglers; Ohio, infiltrated by violent street gangs and
cocaine dealers in the state's "Rust Belt"; and Oregon, where
methamphetamine has become the "drug of choice." All will share in the pot
of new funding allotted them by the federal government.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman, who helped lead a lobbying effort to
win federal assistance, acknowledged that Tuesday's announcement was a
mixed blessing for the region.

"While on the one hand we're happy to get these resources, we have to admit
that we have a drug problem that's out of control. It's not exactly
something you can stand up and say you're proud of," the sheriff said in an
interview.

Authorities said "super labs" in the Central Valley are now thought to
produce as much as half the methamphetamine in California and ship it to
other states and Canada.

Although the trade was once dominated by biker gangs, Mexican drug cartels
have emerged in recent years to take control of the region, establishing
laboratories in abandoned farmhouses, boarded up homes and other remote
rural sites, authorities said. They typically employ illegal immigrants and
migrant farm workers to produce up to 100 pounds of the cheap, highly
addictive drug in each 24hour "cooking" cycle.

"Methamphetamine is the major drug law enforcement problem in the Central
Valley, and we need all the help that we can get," said Paul Seave, the
U.S. attorney for the region.

Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House drug office, said that
bringing federal oversight should provide a "catalyst of cooperation" to
the 10 multijurisdictional drug task forces already working in the valley.

The valley's law enforcement officials have complained that they are
outmanned by the drug cartels because despite the ground they cover they
have far fewer FBI, anti narcotics and other officers than other parts of
the state.

By better coordinating their attack, authorities said, they hope to scale
back on the high number of methamphetamine users and emergency room
admissions linked to the drug. And, officials said, they may make a dent in
what they see as related problems, including a rise in domestic violence in
some areas and extensive toxic pollution from drug lab runoff.

"The problem in the valley is very distinct," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D
Calif.), who appeared at a news conference with McCaffrey. "Either you step
up to the plate and face it, as we're doing, or you run away and deny it."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D Calif.) said that adding the Central Valley to the
drug trafficking zones means that "a more complete, statewide drug
suppression strategy can succeed." But critics said expansion of the zone
program, created in 1990, underscores how political, unfocused and
sometimes ineffective the effort has become, with resources spread too thin.

"The whole program has lost a sense of strategy," said Stan Morris, deputy
director of the White House drug policy office in the George Bush
administration and now a private consultant. "When everything becomes a
priority, nothing becomes a priority." He said the program, which has grown
in annual funding from about $25 million at its inception to $185 million
today, gives politicians a way to dole out "pork in the drug war" to their
local communities.

But there is little to demonstrate that the money and resources devoted to
past drug trafficking zones have done much to reverse the situation in
those communities, said Rob Stewart, an analyst for the Drug Policy
Foundation, a Washington based think tank that supports more resources for
drug abuse treatment.

"I'm sure [the zone designations] do some good. I'm sure they do make some
neighborhoods livable again," he said. "But in the macro sense, without a
broader strategy, is it like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?"
Central Valley officials were rejected in their appeals for federal
assistance last year.

The valley region will get an immediate allotment of $800,000. California
officials said they have been assured that total funding will amount to
about $2.5 million a year.

The new zone, home to 4.6 million people, covers the counties of
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings
and Kern.