Battling Heroin
Plano drug task force represents first step

Plano Police Chief Bruce Glasscock realizes his northern Dallas suburb
has a drug problem. After watching heroin kill seven young Plano
residents over the last year, he has assembled a group of professional
drug fighters.

The group consists of representatives from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Collin County district
attorney, two U.S. attorney offices, the Dallas Police Department and
the Texas Public Safety Department. The presence of federal and state
law enforcement officials will help local communities like Plano. They
often lack sufficient resources to battle drug abuse themselves.

According to Mr. Glasscock, the task force will try to attack the street
supply of heroin. For good reason: Chief Glasscock says heroin use has
increased 48 percent in Plano over the last year.

Importantly, the task force will focus on drug prevention as well. Chief
Glasscock notes that Drug Enforcement Agency agents already have met
with Plano police who work with the city's schools.

The task force's work, of course, largely will involve crime
professionals dealing with other crime professionals. At some point, the
larger Dallas community needs to be involved. That means drawing in
parents, teachers, students, drug abuse experts and community leaders
throughout North Texas. Getting families, schools, and local leaders
talking about ways to curb drug abuse is essential.

Fortunately, state Sen. Florence Shapiro, RPlano, remains at work
trying to assemble a regional summit on the spread of heroin. Ms.
Shapiro says that she wants the summit to involve a wide range of
people.

Charter Behavioral Health Systems is sponsoring one community forum this
week. Charter's seminar on "heroin in the suburbs" will be held at Plano
City Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday. Concerned families should turn out. The
public needs to fight the drug battle, too.