DRUG BUREAU TO SEEK INPUT FROM CITIZENS

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics will hold a town meeting in South
Mississippi next week to send the message that it needs the public to
report drug activity and talk to state legislators about the need for more
money.

The bureau's budget has been cut by $6 million from the previous year, to
$9.3 million, said MBN spokesman Randy Johnson. One example of problems the
cuts cause: 45 cars, or two-thirds of the agency's fleet, have been parked.
Agents are sharing cars to do their jobs, Johnson said.

"We've actually had people who live 15 or 20 miles apart have to pick each
other up and take each other home at night," Johnson said. "It's hard to do
your job when you don't have resources."

Budgets for state agencies have been cut because revenue has lagged behind
expenses.

MBN Director Don Strange is expected to talk about the agency's budget and
drug-enforcement efforts at the town hall meeting in Biloxi, the fourth to
be held in Mississippi. The meeting will have a question-and-answer session
and a presentation on methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug manufactured
in homemade labs.

MBN wants people to know the agency targets top-level dealers and
distributors who sell drugs to street dealers. But Johnson said the agency
also wants to hear from people just as much as it wants to get its message out.

"Each town hall meeting we've gone to, we've learned something," he said.
"People are now contacting us more about drug problems in their
communities. We've had anywhere from 50 to 400 people show up for these."

Drug forum

What: Town-hall meeting sponsored by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics;
co-sponsored by state Sen. Deborah Dawkins of Pass Christian, Rep. Billy
Broomfield of Moss Point and The Sun Herald.

When: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21.

Where: Biloxi Community Center, 591 Howard Ave.

Details: The public is invited to the meeting, at which MBN Director Don
Strange will speak. There will be a presentation on methamphetamine and an
audience question-and-answer session. School, political and law-enforcement
officials from Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties have been invited.