DRUG ENFORCERS LAMENT LACK OF FEDERAL FUNDING

U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley said he will carefully study the need for
federal funds to fight the war on drugs in New Hampshire after a
meeting in Concord this month with the state associate attorney
general, the Rockingham County sheriff, police chiefs and officers. At
least two, including Rockingham County Sheriff Daniel Linehan, told
Bradley money spent on homeland security grants should be redirected.

"One thing interested me during that conversation - the amount of
objection everyone had to the amount of money the federal government
has spent on grant-supplied equipment after 9/11," Linehan said. "I'm
not sure some of that money needed to be spent for that purpose."

Linehan is on the Homeland Security Grant Committee in
Concord.

"I made the analogy," Portsmouth Detective Stephen Arnold said, "we
lost a few thousand people on Sept. 11, we lose hundreds of thousands
to drug addiction every year. It's very frustrating."

Arnold is a narcotics detective and head of the state Police
Association.

"The main focus is homeland security is sucking up so much money,
drawing away from drug programs," he said. "We're seeing it go from
one pot to another pot."

State and local law enforcement met with Bradley in a roundtable
discussion on March 10.

"Drug abuse was really the central concern that was voiced by
everyone," Associate Attorney General Ann Rice said. "We need help
dealing with these issues. Justice Administration Grants, money from
the federal government to support efforts, is being cut back
dramatically in the president's budget. It will have a significant
impact."

Federal money is the sole source of funding for the state Attorney
General's Drug Task Force. The task force is comprised of police
officers on four regional teams in the state, combating street-level
drug crime.

The task force originally received $3 million annually. That amount
was reduced to $1.8 million, said Linda Hodgdon, director of
administration for the state attorney general.

In 2006, President Bush cut all funding, and it was restored to $1.2
million by the House and Senate, Hodgdon said. There is again no
funding in the president's 2007 budget, she said.

"It's like that in many states," she said. "It takes about $1.3
million to manage the drug task force and their operating costs. The
last grant was not enough to fund them."

There are also grants out there to combat the spread of
methamphetamines, with none as yet coming into this state, Hodgdon
said.

Seabrook has received much attention for its heroin problem and the
overdose death last month of 17-year-old Lloyd Chapin of Seabrook, a
student at Winnacunnet High School.

Seabrook Police Chief David Currier, who attended the meeting, said he
heard police chiefs in other cities and towns describe similar scenarios.

A few years ago, Portsmouth had seven overdose deaths in a two-year
period, Arnold said. In 2003 and 2004, there were two fatal overdoses
within six months of each other.

Drugs are mainly coming in from Massachusetts, Arnold
said.

"The closer you get to Massachusetts, the closer you get to drug
problems," he said. "We're not a source state."

At the roundtable, those who attended lamented the lack of rehab
centers and places for addicts to get help, especially those without
money or insurance, Currier said.

"Trying to find a bed for someone who wants help is a nightmare,"
Sheriff Linehan said.

Steve Arnault is the assistant director of Behavioral Health Services
(formerly called the Portsmouth Pavilion) at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

The lack of federal funding for rehab centers affects his center,
Arnault said, even though Behavioral Health Services accepts no
federal money.

"It affects us greatly," Arnault said. "We have an indirect
connection. We're getting phone calls from all over New England. The
last few months, it's really increased."

The reason is the lack of funding for other centers, which are
closing, leaving the Portsmouth service one of the few left for people
to call.

The Portsmouth center offers an intensive outpatient program, which
always has a waiting list, Arnault said, and an inpatient detox
program. The center takes patients first who are most at risk of
suffering fatal consequences if not accepted.

It's not a money issue, Arnault said, but rehab centers must balance
money concerns or else risk closure.

Southeastern Services in Dover is the only regional center of which
Arnault is aware that accepts people who have no insurance.

Ironically, Detective Arnold said, there's more treatment services
available after someone is arrested.

"We're not just in the business of locking people up, but without
money, all we're doing is locking them up," he said. "I need money for
enforcement. They need money for rehabs. We're spending billions on
homeland security ... in the event that there's going to be a
catastrophe, when we're fighting this every day."

Bradley appeared to understand their concerns, Arnold said. "I don't
know that it's going to be fixed," he said.

Bradley routinely holds roundtable discussions with New Hampshire's
law enforcement, veterans and small-business members, he said in a
written statement.

"At my most recent roundtable discussion earlier this month, local
police chiefs and county attorneys stressed to me the importance of
federal funding to combat the growing drug problem in our state,"
Bradley said. "The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant
Program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program
aid state and local police departments in combating drug use by
funding programs that treat drug abuse and by providing funding for
more police officers for anti-drug divisions.

"I will continue to look closely at the funding levels for these
programs as the appropriations process proceeds, and if there is an
opportunity to increase this funding, I will study this carefully."