TAKING A LOOK AT HEROIN PROBLEM

Nation's Drug Czar Visits Willimantic With Rowland; Governor Vows More Funds

WILLIMANTIC --Gov. John G. Rowland came here Tuesday with the White House
director of national drug policy and promised to allocate more money and
police to fight the community's intractable drug problem.

"We are availing ourselves to the city of Willimantic," Rowland said,
announcing that he was giving an additional $100,000 to the statewide
narcotics task force "to make sure they have the resources" to fight heroin
trafficking and abuse.

"We are going to be committing some resources and manpower," said state
police Capt. Peter Warren, who supervises the task force. "We will be
committing some additional people above and beyond, as far as manpower and
equipment." While he would not elaborate on what steps the task force would
take, most of the group's officers work in undercover operations targeting
mid-to upper-level dealers.

The task force consists of state and local police officers. The Willimantic
Police Department had assigned an officer to the task force in previous
years, but didn't this year because of budget constraints and staffing
problems, town officials said.

Windham First Selectman Michael Paulhus said Tuesday that the town has
begun discussions about reassigning a local police officer to the narcotics
task force.

"We're going to talk about every possible resource they have. I don't want
to leave anything out of the equation," Paulhus said.

Police, town officials and treatment providers will hold a community forum
tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the heroin problem in town and to
discuss forming a task force to come up with solutions.

John P. Walters, the director of national drug control policy, had planned
to visit Connecticut for a while, but Rowland said Tuesday the visit was
moved to a treatment center in Willimantic in light of a five-day series
last week in The Courant.

The series detailed the history, scope and human toll of heroin trafficking
and addiction in Willimantic. The articles depicted heroin use of unusual
scope for a community of fewer than 16,000 people and how it has persisted
largely unabated for more than 30 years.

As part of the visit, the governor, Walters and U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons,
R-2nd District, toured the Perception House facility in Willimantic,
meeting some of the addicts in treatment there.

Rowland said the heroin problem in Willimantic was no worse than in any
other community.

"Willimantic is a great town, a beautiful community, with beautiful
buildings," Rowland said. "It's just a classic, classic New England mill
town. This is not a unique problem in Willimantic. The Hartford Courant
could have gone into any city or town and written that article."

In a debate Monday with Bill Curry, Rowland highlighted Walters' visit
during a discussion of his positions on drug laws and drug-treatment
programs. Curry, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, accused the
governor of "being more than a day late and more than a dollar short" in
responding to the state's drug problems.

Rowland said Tuesday that for Curry to suggest he has not been working on
drug issues before The Courant's series on Willimantic was "disingenuous."

Earlier in the day, Walters said the drug trade in the U.S. is a "herd of
elephants" that the government needs to do a better job of controlling. He
said officials are working to improve treatment and enforcement programs,
and he praised Connecticut, saying the state has "made exemplary efforts"
to take a team approach toward drug treatment.

Walters made no promise for additional federal funding, but said more
emphasis should be placed on treatment in Willimantic.

"Heroin addiction is particularly difficult," he said. "We've had years of
research. We know the best way is to get people in sooner, rather than later."