USERS AND DEALERS

I am a neighborhood watch block captain and one of the organizers of
North Park's protest of smoke shops selling illegal drug
paraphernalia ["The Front Lines," Nov. 28]. Within a one-block radius
of a cluster of three smoke shops in North Park, our neighborhood
watch group has witnessed with their own eyes drug use, drug deals
and drug holdups. On many nights in this area, one can find drug
users getting high, often hiding behind dumpsters, and drug dealers
walking around with drug laden knapsacks. That's why we have been
protesting these shops. We appreciate the work of the Drug Abatement
Response Team and the city attorney to enforce the law and to protect
our children from this criminal element.

Jeff Stebbins, North Park Neighborhood Watch