TEXAS LEADS U.S. IN 2002 DRUG CONFISCATIONS

"We're fighting a war every day."
Clair Barnes, Texas Trooper

The Traffic Law Enforcement Division recently released its 2002 records and
marked Texas as the leading state in drug seizures on the interstates
during normal traffic patrol. The 2002 confiscations in the United States
amounted to $123.8 million in drugs, with record weights of 86 pounds of
heroin, about one ton of cocaine and over 25 tons of marijuana.

The most popular drug, unofficially, seems to be marijuana.

"We make a lot of arrests for possession of marijuana; it's expensive but
it seems to be more prevalent," Trooper Clair Barnes of the Texas Highway
Patrol said.

"The ages range from teens to 50 and 60-year-olds."

Roger Jones, an Assistant District Attorney in Denton, said possession of
over four ounces of marijuana is considered a felony.

Anything under one gram is a misdemeanor, and the average sentence is
somewhere from six to 12 months of probation.

While possession of marijuana charges can be serious, the sentences for
possession of cocaine and heroin are much more severe.

"The reality is, in Denton County, our office does not offer probation for
delivery of cocaine and heroin," Jones said.

Barnes said it did not matter whether or not one had ever used drugs. If it
is on their person, they are taken in for possession of an illegal narcotic.

He said he hopes that it is not a lesson everyone has to learn the hard way.

"Hopefully, it won't take a drug conviction for you to realize. Every time
you apply for a job, it shows a drug possession on your record."

Last year, Christina, an NT student, experienced this situation first-hand.
In high school, Christina said she always looked down on other kids who did
drugs, but when she came to NT in fall 2001, she herself got caught up in
abusing drugs.

"I was smoking [marijuana] at least twice a day, and if I wasn't smoking, I
would drink," she said.

In April 2002, Christina was arrested outside of the dorms for possession
of marijuana. It changed her life.

"I didn't want to face the realities of becoming an adult and stopped
wanting to stand up for my beliefs," she said.

Because Christina had never even received a traffic violation before, she
was able to start on a probation program which would allow her offense to
be erased from her record once completed.

"I could legally say that I've never been arrested," she said.

After one year of community service, visits to the probation officer, and a
squeaky clean lifestyle, Christina will soon finish her program.

"The experience helped me find more direction in my life," she said.

"I'll drink again when I'm legal, but I definitely wouldn't smoke pot
again. I wasn't getting anything done."

According to various students on campus, the reason for widespread drug
trafficking is a simple matter of supply and demand.

Rachel Hill, Lufkin sophomore, said that the high rate of drug use is
likely caused not only by demand for a particular drug, but also by Texas'
border with Mexico.

Barnes agreed, saying that there were bigger seizures conducted in eastern
and southern parts of Texas and related these confiscations back to the
Colombian drug ring.

Karl Backs, a Portland, Ore., graduate student, said he attributed the high
number of drug confiscations to the diligence of the authorities.

Other students questioned why certain members of society have to use drugs
in order to deal with reality.

For Trooper Barnes, this is all part of the job.

"Every day, a trooper in the state is making a drug seizure of considerable
amounts," he said.

"We're fighting a war every day."