Pubdate: Wed, 03 Oct 2007
Source: Sandusky Register,The (OH)
Copyright: 2007 The Sandusky Register
Contact:  http://www.sanduskyregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1307
Author: CHAUNCEY ALCORN

HURON COUNTY'S WAR ON DRUGS WORKING

Drug activity is spiking in Huron County, and law 
enforcementofficials say heroin use is a problem among  young and old alike.

Norwalk has nearly tripled its drug investigations from  2002 to 
2006, and drug arrests in the city are at a  five-year high.

But with increased enforcement and awareness raised by  community 
organizations, the number of heroin users may  be on the decline, 
according to Huron County Alcohol,  Drug Addiction and Mental Health 
Services Board  Director Jean King.

Drug treatment

Law enforcement and public health officials agree there  are no easy 
answers when it comes to treating drug  addiction, but a 
collaboration of community resources  may be yielding results when it 
comes to heroin.

Firelands Counseling and Recovery Services Director  Karen Russell 
said her service population in fiscal  year 2007 was 360 patients.

She said the 15 percent of those patients who are there  for heroin 
or other opiate addiction is slightly down  from last year.

Drug use among children is declining as well.

"All the work, all the intervention is having an  impact," Russell said.

But the number of people being treated for marijuana  and alcohol 
increased to 68 this year, Russell said.

Willard Police Sgt. Rick Sexton said he talks to  addicts day in and 
day out, many of whom say they want  help with their addiction.

He would like to see more treatment centers like  Firelands open in 
his city, which is infamous among law  enforcement for drug activity.

"Some of these people would like to be off of heroin,  and maybe some 
clinics in Willard could help people get  off this drug," he said.

Drug enforcement

Law enforcement agencies throughout Huron County  continue to up the 
ante on drug enforcement.

Since February, Sexton has been forced to battle  Willard's drug 
problem almost by himself.

The department lost officers last year to retirement  and was forced 
to cut payroll due to budget  constraints.

But thanks to a levy passed in April, it plans to hire  at least 
three new officers before the end of the year.

"That's going to free up people working dope," Sexton  said. "At 
least one other guy that's going to help me  down here."

Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway estimates  more than 50 
percent of the county's current criminal  cases are drug related, and 
half of those cases are  heroin related.

Conway admits when it comes to sentencing for heroin  offenses, 
incarceration is his most common choice.

He says that's not only to protect the public, but to  protect the 
addict from himself or herself.

"I think certainly a period of incarceration with  regard to drug 
addicts can serve a purpose of  punishment and rehabilitation," he 
said. "Most addicts  require a period of abstinence in a controlled 
environment to break their current addiction and keep  them from 
relapsing. The best environment (where) we  can control that is incarceration."

Law enforcement officers throughout the county are  pleased with 
Conway's hardline approach to dealing with  drug addicts.

"I think judge Conway's doing a very nice job," Norwalk  police Det. 
Jim Fulton said. "He believes they have to  be in jail for an 
extended period of time to get them  off the addiction. The problem 
is people go right back  to where they started from."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart