TAZEWELL DRUG CRACKDOWN ANOTHER GIANT STEP

There was a time when people who lived in the rural parts of the United
States thought they were somewhat insulated from the kinds of problems
associated with the rise of illegal drug use, but that way of thinking is
far form the truth. Rural areas such as Tazewell County may not have the
mainline heroin and cocaine problems that exist in some urban centers in
this country, but the drug problem here can be every bit as vicious as it
is in the cities in terms of the loss of human life as well as the loss of
property from drug-related crimes.

There's a race going on right now between the forces of good that would
encourage young people to choose a life without drugs, pitted against
hedonistic drug-abusers who have already exchanged their futures for the
instant gratification of the here and now. For the most part, drug addicts
aren't born - they're cultivated. Prolonged drug abuse tends to make it
easier for the abuser to make bad decisions, and those decisions can lead
them straight to jail.

Tazewell County Commonwealth Attorney Dennis Lee has led the charge in
recent years in the fight to bring drug pushers and abusers to justice. He
was instrumental in creating broad-based regional and national awareness of
the oxycontin abuse problem and has become an expert of a wide range of
drug problems.

Lee announced on Wednesday that the Tazewell County Narcotics Task Force,
made up of members of the Virginia State Police, the Tazewell County
Sheriff's Department and the police departments of Richlands, Tazewell and
Bluefield, have arrested 47 individuals during the past three weeks on
various drug-related charges. Lee added that more arrests are likely from
the same investigation.

Ultimately, the solution to the nation's drug abuse problem will come
through educating young people about the consequences they face by making
bad choices. Law enforcement and the courts can make a big difference in
the public perception of how drug pushers and abusers are treated when they
break the law.

Tazewell County has taken a hard-line stance against drugs and it shows.