EDUCATION REMAINS FOCUS IN WAR ON DRUGS

Mesquite police officers have battled drug trafficking in the community
since the early days of the department in the 50s and 60s.

Then, as is the case now, Mesquite doesn't have a rampant, out-of-control
drug trade where crack houses exist, as well as places for teens to rave.

Still, MPD Sgt. Valerie Little -- head of the narcotics division -- said
that there were heroin busts in the 60s and 70s.

Education remains the primary weapon the department uses in the war on
drugs -- even to the point of educating parents through their children.

The Evolution of the drug trade

Little said Mesquite was not unlike any other community or suburban
population center in the psychedelic 60s.

People experimented with drugs more as there were new substances to be used.

"Cocaine was in limited amounts, but it was out there," Little said. "It
was more exclusive because it was more expensive."

However, Mesquite and the surrounding area never earned the stigma where
drugs were concerned like other areas of the country ... such as San
Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district for example.

"We weren't on the same scale as other places," she said. "We've [Mesquite]
has never been west L.A. or anything. It's always been a bedroom community
and not necessarily a place where people come to party. It's a place where
people come to raise their families and go to church on Sundays."

For the most part, the drug issues that existed in the 50s and 60s exist
today -- with a few exceptions that have developed over the years.

"Our top problems are number one, marijuana; number two, methamphetamine;
three, cocaine; four, pills or pharmaceuticals and five would be the
designer drugs like ecstasy and GHB," Little said. "If there is a sixth
one, it would be heroin. But we don't see much of it."

Evolution of the drugs

As police work developed better mousetraps for the drug trade, those who
were intent on peddling the poison developed better mice.

For example, cocaine gave way to crack, which in turn evolved into crank.

"Crack was a significant development because its effects were more
immediate," Little said.

But perhaps the most significant evolution in the drugs has come in the
manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine.

Little said Mesquite are has always been a prevalent location for the meth
trade.

Meth became a national scourge some 12 years ago.

It was dangerous to make, it was extremely toxic and there were tell tale
signs that a meth lab was present.

The stench of ammonia.

The theft of cold tablets containing ephedrine.

The purchase of laboratory-grade glassware.

However, as police started cracking down on the meth trade different
methods of cooking were developed and perfected -- such as the Nazi cook
and ice cook.

"In the past, people didn't want to get a three-day cook unless they made
enough to pay for the cook and besides, they were going to get caught,"
Little said.

"Now, we don't see meth cooks making five pounds, 10 pounds, 30 pounds of
product. They are making enough to fill a Gerber baby food jar. They know
they can make it quicker in small quantities and put it in their arm or
whatever."

It's difficult to say if there is more meth production in Mesquite now than
10 years ago because the numbers are relative.

For one, there are more people living in Mesquite now than 10-20 years ago,
so the potential for more meth production rises.

But, there may not be any more of the drug meth on the street now than
there was 10-20 years ago. There might be more people making it, but in
much smaller quantities, Little said.

"We have more people who think they're a dope cook," Little said. "Then
again, it isn't rocket science."

Designer drugs gained a heightened awareness at the turn of the century.

In Michigan in 2000, four young men stood trial in the death of a teenage
girl, whose autopsy revealed traces of the drug GHB.

Again, Mesquite doesn't have the designer drug problem of many communities
because it doesn't have places were teens and college-aged people are
allowed to rave.

"There are some unusual circumstances," Little said. "But for the most
part, we find them [designer drugs] when we stop a kid for something else
and find out he has bought it somewhere. We end up going after the source
rather than the supplier."

Evolution of the fight

As for combating drugs in the community, Little said law enforcement
agencies gained valuable legislative help when forfeiture laws when into
place to go after a charged drug dealer's resources.

"Before then, we could bust a drug dealer and he would still have the
resources to hire an attorney or pay fines," Little said. "But we can take
away the funds and the play toys now. They have to find some other means to
pay for those legal services."

However, the single most effective weapon in the fight against drugs has
been working with the public school systems to educate children on the
travesties associated with drug addiction.

Mass media has been used effectively in showing the dangers of drug abuse
- -- even to the extent of causing adults to feel uncomfortable.

The education itself has shifted, said MPD Public Information Officer Sgt.
Shannon Greenhaw.

Greenhaw oversees the School Resource Officer program that exists in the
Mesquite Independent School District.

"It's not enough to say that drugs are bad," she said. "We have to show
these kids the pharmacology involved . of how marijuana use erodes the
pleasure centers of the brain."

Little said continued commitment of huge amounts of resources to drug
education has made a difference -- programs such as DARE and LETS.

Legalization and decriminalization of drug use is definitely not the
answer, Little and Greenhaw said.

"There is the argument that drug users are only hurting themselves and it
simply isn't true," Greenhaw said. "I would say 90 percent of the robberies
we work are committed by people stealing to support a drug habit."

"Look at the billions of dollars lost every year to theft," Little said.
"But we haven't opened the floodgates to allow people to shoplift whenever
they want to. The answer is not wringing our hands and saying we aren't
going to deal with it anymore ... it will just be legal."