30 YEARS AGO, LEA COUNTY HAD A DRUG PROBLEM

To the Editor:

Please note my thanks for your editorial on increasing penalties for
methamphetamine and rest assured that I am in total agreement.

I recall that when I came to Lea County over 30 years ago, Lea County had a
drug problem. There were two or three places in the county where one could
buy heroin or cocaine and five or six places to buy marijuana.

Finally, about 25 years ago, a responsive conservative Legislature
responded to public concern by increasing penalties, stopping early parole
and setting mandatory penalties for second offenses.

We know that a good Legislature can solve problems by responding to public
concern. It solved our cocaine, heroin and marijuana problems to the extent
that the number of dealers in the county is totally different from when I
got here.

Thus, we need to pressure the Legislature to solve the methamphetamine
problem through legislation and at the same time the Legislature could
solve the agriculture problem by requiring a minimum of three inches of
rainfall in each of June, July and August. In addition, we probably need a
government committee to study each problem.

W. Gilbert Bryan

Hobbs