WHAT'S NEXT?

This falls under the category, "What won't the drug abuser abuse next?" The
Associated Press reported earlier this week that some drug addicts have
found a new way to fund their habit: selling wood they have stolen by
chopping down ancient trees on both public and private timberland in
Washington state forests.

If it's happening there, it's happening here - or will be soon. We have the
prerequisite materials: large, valuable old-growth trees and a healthy
population of methamphetamine users and producers, many of whom do their
dirty deeds on federal forest land. There is a lot of that around here.

It's difficult for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to
patrol the extensive wild lands of the West. The woods have become an
attractive place for drug users, who feel they can hang out there with
impunity.

It used to be that forest officials focused on theft by timber companies.
Now, incredibly, the focus has shifted to drug addicts - the last focus
you'd expect to see in the national forests.