The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association statewide drug sting was impressive --
875 arrests made and 1,000 arrest warrants issued. In Tangipahoa and
Livingston parishes, the sting netted 16 arrests, mostly for possession or
distribution charges. And these arrests come on the heels of other arrests
and seizures of clandestine drug labs in area homes in recent months.

If only arrests were the answer, but they are just the start.

Now we'll watch these accused individuals go through the court system. If
they follow the usual course, we can expect to see their names in the news
again in reports that they were put on probation and their sentences were
suspended on condition that they pay fines and court costs, attend
substance abuse classes and so forth. There is not enough room in the jails
and prisons to hold all the people arrested and convicted for drug charges
in Louisiana.

The local sheriff's spokeswoman said the purposes of Operation Frost Bite
last week were to identify and take drug dealers off the streets, to
illustrate the extent of the drug problem and to respond to and allay the
public's concerns about drugs and crime issues in the state.

The sheriffs' association can consider the operation only two-thirds
successful. Alleged drug dealers have been taken off the streets, at least
for the time being. The arrests did serve to remind the public that illegal
drugs are extensive in our community and our state.

As for allaying our concerns, however, Operation Frost Bite did not help
much there. Despite the highly publicized stings and raids, illegal drugs
continue to proliferate. Drugs remain too easily accessible.

Without doubt, law enforcement must keep the heat on illegal drug
manufacturing, trafficking and possession -- until our community finally
realizes that we cannot tolerate the attitudes, the conditions, the
influences and the powers that profit from the widespread drug problem and
that encourage it to continue.