FIGHTING THE WAR ON DRUGS

With the presidential administration of Ronald Reagan, the country began a
full-fledged war against illegal drugs, spending millions of dollars on the
"Just Say No" advertising campaign, and millions more on law enforcement
agencies' fight against drug trafficking and drug use. Decades later,
government agencies are still fighting the war against drugs.

As drug trends come and go, and the methods of production, distribution and
use of these drugs change, some may perceive the war against drugs as a
losing battle.

Locally, drug use is as prominent as it has ever been, but local law
enforcement officials say they are not giving up the fight.

Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens, in conjunction with the
Talladega County Sheriff's Department, is putting together a countywide
drug task force, with cooperation and participation by all of the county's
local police departments.

Giddens and Sheriff Jerry Studdard applied for a grant to fund the task
force, and other local police departments have agreed to participate.

Lincoln Police Chief Dennis Surrett endorsed the task force during a
Lincoln City Council meeting earlier in the year, stating the county "needs
something like this, to combine all of our resources and fight this together."

Council members were not immediately convinced that the task force was as
good an idea as Surrett thought, but after hearing the details of the
project, they unanimously agreed to commit to it.

The Talladega County Commission approved a grant application for about
$450,000 to fund the startup costs and one year's operation expenses for
the Talladega County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

The commission also approved the agreement participating agencies have
signed to join the task force.

Assistant District Attorney Barry Matson said he expected these agencies
would all want to participate. They include the district attorney's office,
the Sheriff's Department and the Talladega, Sylacauga, Childersburg and
Lincoln police departments.

The agreement establishes the task force, its objectives, setup procedures
and the responsibilities of the participating agencies.

The task force will initiate its own investigations into drug use and
resulting violent crimes, assist other law enforcement agencies in their
drug investigations, share information with other agencies, and perform the
necessary training, the agreement states.

The grant application also discusses the goals and objectives of the task
force, one of which is to "reduce and ultimately eliminate the level of
distribution, sale, usage and manufacturing of drugs and narcotics
throughout Talladega County."

The application includes an overview of the drug problem in the county. It
mentions drug use in almost every sector of the county.

For example, traffickers have flown drugs into the two airports in the
county, and Talladega Superspeedway produces a number of drug arrests each
race week, especially for marijuana and prescription drugs. Area college
students who use drugs have a preference for the drug ecstasy, according to
the study.

While the task force will work on all parts of the drug problem, it will
focus on the three most prevalent drugs in the area: marijuana, cocaine and
methamphetamines, the application states.

Talladega County Commissioner John Carter said, "We have a drug problem.
Everybody has drug problem. (The task force) won't stop it, but it will
curtail it."

Giddens said the task force, once set up, will have 10 employees and its
own location. The participating police departments will supply one officer
to work for the task force, and the Sheriff's Department will provide two
officers.

The district attorney's office will hire up to four employees to work for
the task force, Giddens said.

The County Commission is applying for a Community Development Block Grant.
The grant program is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and
Community Affairs.

If awarded, the commission and the participating agencies will have to pay
a 25 percent match. Giddens said the commission's share of the match will
cost up to $30,000.

The grant's application includes a proposed budget for the task force's
first year, which will run from Oct. 1, 2002, to Sept. 30, 2003. Matson
said if ADECA does not award the entire amount asked for, the budget can be
amended to reflect whatever award is received.

Giddens said the county plans to apply for a new grant every year to fund
the task force.

With drug arrests, namely methamphetamine arrests prevalent in the county
over the last year, police have expressed an eagerness to find any solution
they can use to rid the area of the drug problem.

In the last state legislative session, the Legislature passed a precursor
law, which makes the possession of illegal drug ingredients a felony.

In February, two men were arrested in Lincoln under the precursor law,
having possession of anhydrous ammonia and other ingredients commonly used
to produce methamphetamine.

One problem with a drug like methamphetamine, different from cocaine or
other drugs, is the availability of the ingredients.

Surrett said the agents used in the production of the drug can mostly be
found in any drug store or supermarket.

For this reason, many stores have been instructed to keep a close watch on
"suspicious purchases," like large amounts of ephedrine-based
over-the-counter drugs.

He said a recent arrest was made at a local business involving a man buying
large amounts of Sudafed and batteries.

"The batteries were for the lithium," he said. "Basically, imagine some of
the worst things you can put in your body and that is what is used to make
meth."

Prevention methods are also popular with local law enforcement agencies.

Childersburg Police Chief Chuck Brown said he is an advocate of the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education program, or DARE, as it is dubbed.

Brown said programs such as DARE can help prevent arrests before they
happen by giving school-aged children an opportunity to lead a drug-free
lifestyle.

"It is definitely not a cure-all," Brown said. "But it is effective, I
think, as an education tool. We stress positive peer interaction, and we
work on self-esteem so these kids do not feel the need to turn to drugs."

Brown said he has seen positive results from the DARE program, and believes
its methods of teaching kids about drugs and addiction are more effective
than other methods that tend to use scare tactics and do not "truly relate
to the kids themselves."

Interaction in area schools has been one method of local law enforcement to
try to bridge the gap between youths and police, and to educate students on
drugs and their effects.

Police departments in Childersburg, Talladega, Sylacauga and Lincoln have
instituted various programs and interactive situations in local schools,
and claim to have seen positive results.

About Michael Seale Michael Seale is a staff writer for The Daily Home.