SMALL VICTORIES

With 12 suspected drug dealers in jail and four on the run, one may
think the Central Susquehanna Valley's law enforcement community may
have scored a major victory in the war on drugs.

It was touted that way by Attorney General Mike Fisher and other
officials on Thursday when they held a news conference to announce the
arrests.

In many ways, the arrests may be a victory.

If the allegations prove true in court, those charged are responsible
for bringing $2 million worth of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and
marijuana into the Valley in the last three years.

The coordinated police work of a dozen local police departments and
state agencies deserves praise for breaking up such a drug ring with
alleged connections to Reading and New York.

But there is a certain "show-and-tell" aspect to these big drug bust
announcements. Authorities can show us pictures of those arrested, and
tell us about their alleged crimes, but the big picture remains
elusive. For every drug dealer caught, there are perhaps dozens free.
And for every drug dealer free, there are perhaps dozens of drug users
creating a demand - and a lucrative market.

The arrests should put a crimp in the supply of illegal drugs to the
area. But a crimp is not a shut-off valve.

Drugs will continue to pour into the Valley as long as there is a
market for them. And the market will continue to exist as long as the
false allure of illegal drugs continues to overpower the anti-drug
messages of families, schools and communities.

The arrests may have been a small victory, but there are many more
battles, on many more fronts, to be fought.