cannabisnews.com: Utah's Trafficking Fight Could Take a Hit










  Utah's Trafficking Fight Could Take a Hit

Posted by CN Staff on February 16, 2006 at 07:42:25 PT
By Thomas Burr, The Salt Lake Tribune 
Source: Salt Lake Tribune  

Washington -- Utah and surrounding states could lose federal funding for combating drug trafficking under a proposal by the Bush administration to move a program to the Justice Department, a national narcotics group said Wednesday.  The Bush administration would move the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program from the White House's "drug czar" office to the Justice Department, along with cutting some $19 million from its $227 million budget.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy says the move makes sense because the Justice Department is an enforcement arm of the government, while the drug czar's job is to set policy.  But police officers disagree.  "You'll see narcotics overrun the state," Perry Rose, past president of the Utah Narcotics Association and a former Heber City police officer, said at a news conference in Washington.  If the proposal succeeds, Rose said, Utah's 26 multi-jurisdiction drug task forces would most likely crumble and the "narcotics investigations would become reactive instead of proactive."  Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said the drug trafficking area program's success has been "phenomenal" and cited statistics showing that for every dollar budgeted for the effort, police seize $3 in assets from drug dealers.  "Very few government agencies can make the claim that they pay for themselves," Hatch said. "HIDTA programs have proven to be a very sound investment."  The program, though, was rated as "not performing" by the Office of Management and Budget, which says the effort has "grown well beyond its original focus on the nation's very worst drug problem areas" largely because of congressional efforts to expand the program.  The HIDTA program started with five areas in 1990 with a budget of $25 million and now has 29 official designated areas with a budget of more than $200 million.  Jennifer de Vallance, a spokeswoman for the drug czar's office, says the Justice Department would have more resources in fighting the drug trafficking problem.  The drug czar's office is focused on policy, while the Justice Department specializes in enforcement, de Vallance said.  Utahn Scott Burns, a Bush appointee, heads up the HIDTA effort for the drug czar.  Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)Author: Thomas Burr, The Salt Lake Tribune Published: February 16, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Salt Lake TribuneContact: letters sltrib.comWebsite: http://www.sltrib.com/ CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml

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Comment #7 posted by seedless on February 19, 2006 at 23:37:30 PT:
More Americans favor impeaching Bush, poll says
Well it the narco fraud it didn't start with him almost everything else crappy has but this was ahead of him; rather prior to his obtaining office with that florida deal.Send your kids to Canada or Mexico don't use our military might to kill innocent people to try to prove your right even if your not.
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Comment #6 posted by observer on February 16, 2006 at 13:43:44 PT
Classic Pork-Barrel Politics, USA
The HIDTA program started with five areas in 1990 with a budget of $25 million and now has 29 official designated areas with a budget of more than $200 million.HIDTA? Pork. DEA? Pork. War on drugs? Pork. Moralistic, totalitarian easy-pickings employment for tax-farming pot-head busting police pork.http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+pork+barrelPork: favors politicians hand out -- typically make-work projects of dubious good paid for with money exacted from citizens at gunpoint (i.e. taxes) -- designed to loudly ingratiate politicians with their constituents. This is perceived as good public relations (propaganda) for the politician who, when re-elected, perpetuates the process. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 16, 2006 at 11:47:23 PT

museman
There is so much heavy news that is going on and I needed some comic relief. I watched this video called Wonderin and I had to smile because we all are in many ways like Neil. The record company told him they wanted a rock and roll record so he made a rock & roll song. We don't like being told what to do with our lives and this video is rebelling but in a nice way. Check it out when you have time.http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGqgaNakhWQ&search=Neil%20Young%20Wonderin
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Comment #4 posted by museman on February 16, 2006 at 11:31:10 PT

a cops life
Is going to get harder. If you take away their funding for busting pot smokers, that means they will have to actually get out there and start dealing with the real criminals, no more easy time. Gonna have to lay off the donuts fellas 'cause now you're gonna have to WORK for a living! Better make those payola's from the meth dealers last a while, 'cause your pot smoking citizens are standing up to the lies and BS. Time's running out!Go freedom!
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on February 16, 2006 at 10:49:20 PT

Oh yeah...
and Power to control others.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on February 16, 2006 at 10:48:06 PT

money money money
It's all about money. Keep talking. More people will see the truth.It's about "more resources" and "another tool" for law enforcement. It's about the fanciest invasive ...oh I mean "investigative"...gadgets, cameras, radios, weapons, and cars.It's not about saving the children. They are lieing. Perhaps they don't fully realize it,perhaps they do...but they are lieing. It's merely an excuse the prohibition lovers whip out to cover their own greed and lust for "equipment" and "tools" and "stuff" and "more money".
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Comment #1 posted by b4daylight on February 16, 2006 at 10:35:18 PT

The sky is falling
 "You'll see narcotics overrun the state," Perry Rose, past president of the Utah Narcotics Association and a former Heber City police officer, said at a news conference in Washington. The program, though, was rated as "not performing" by the Office of Management and Budget, which says the effort has "grown well beyond its original focus on the nation's very worst drug problem areas" largely because of congressional efforts to expand the program.
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