BY JUNE A. VETTERr: Special to The Pilot

Five local police chiefs, the Moore County sheriff and other elected officials agree that Moore County is just like other small communities across the nation.

It has a problem with drugs.

“It is remarkably important to understand that drugs are the hub of much of the criminal activity that takes place,” said Gerald Galloway, Southern Pines police chief.

Ten percent of the 6,000 arrests made by the Sheriff’s Department in 2002 were directly related to drugs and resulted in the seizure of 12 pounds of powdered cocaine, 6 pounds of methamphetamine, 30 pounds of processed marijuana, 8 ounces of crack cocaine and 600 marijuana plants, for a total estimated street value of $1,337,000.

These figures do not include arrests and confiscation of illegal substances by other law-enforcement departments in the county.

“Statistics show that the majority of crimes are directly or indirectly related to drug abuse,” said Danny Brown, police chief in Robbins

Southern Pines’ Galloway said state police reports are designed so as to classify drug action as a “Part II” activity, which means it is not among the most seriously tracked in reports required by the state.

“But drugs have a remarkable impact on almost all other serious crimes,” Galloway said. “It is the common denominator. People need to understand that there must be a community standard for behavior. Without community spirit in resolving the illegal drug issue, the problem is not going to go away. This is a social issue, not a crime issue. And it demands that all of us pull together as a community.”

Galloway is concerned that local residents who do not have drug problems in their families don’t always realize the effect that drugs in the community can have on them.

“If the problem is in the community, you stand a high probability of being the victim of a robbery, larceny, assault or break-in,” he said. “A significant number of those arrested are involved in drug activity.”

Pinehurst Police Chief Ernest Hooker said he is sometimes asked why police are not “doing something” about drugs.

“We have to follow probable cause before we can identify instances and make arrests,” he said, noting that police need the cooperation of the community. “It is also important to remember that there are no city limits for drug users. They will move around until they find the drugs they want.”

Charles Campbell, police chief in Aberdeen, echoed Hooker’s sentiment.

“If we deal with the problem here, it will just pop up somewhere else if communities don’t work together,” he said. He emphasized the importance of parents, educators, law enforcement personnel and the community coming together to address drug-related issues.

“These problems show up in our schools, on street corners, at shopping centers or anywhere they meet little or no resistance from the community or law enforcement,” he said. “If all the parents, educators and citizens would share the little knowledge they have about drug-related problems in their daily environment with us [law enforcement], together we could make a difference in drug use and related crime in Moore County.”

Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie, a former ABC agent, recently met with Sheriff Lane Carter and Lt. Gerald Seawell, one of the Sheriff’s Department’s drug officers, and agreed to work with the department over the next six months to work out a campaign against substance abuse in Carthage.

McKenzie described the meeting as a “trade” and explained that his department turned over several thousand dollars’ worth of recording devices, purchased over 18 months ago, to Carter. In return, the Sheriff’s Department will provide manpower when needed to work jointly with Carthage police to fight substance abuse. Citing current budget problems, McKenzie said,

“We can’t do it effectively alone,” McKenzie said, citing current budget problems. “We just want to get drugs out of here. That’s what is important.”

In the northern section of the county, Brown said, one trend he sees is the use of crystal methamphetamine. While marijuana, cocaine and crack cocaine are still problems, he said, less conventional means of getting high also exist.

“These include pre-teens and teens being introduced to sniffing dangerous products such as glue, gasoline, aerosol spray paint and propane,” Brown said, adding that “sniffers” more often than not graduate to using other drugs and usually turn to crime to support their habit.

“The future trend of drug abuse in Moore County is hard to predict,” he said, “but price and potency will be major players.”

If law-enforcement officers are concerned about drug activity in Moore County, so are elected officials. Some were quick to share their concern.

“The adage ‘It won’t happen here’ or ‘Not in my backyard’ cannot be accepted when dealing with the drug issue,” said George Hillier, Pinehurst mayor pro tem. “It’s a global problem, and it is happening here. Pinehurst is a community of parents and grandparents, all of whom are terrified of the consequences of indiscriminate drug use.”

County Commissioner Colin McKenzie doesn’t just look at young people.

“It’s a lifelong problem,” he said. “Prevention begins at home and never lets up. We all have an opportunity to experience drugs at any age.”

Southern Pines Council member Fred Walden is adamant that people need to “put on new glasses” when they look at the problem of drugs.

“In the last century, we became a drug-dependent society,” he said. “We are driven by the use of drugs to find solutions to problems. Drug companies really control the medical community. Have a headache? Take a pill. Can’t sleep? Take another. Have a hyper child? There is a drug to deal with that problem, too.

“We are not taught to look for solutions. We cannot deal with the drug problem until we deal with the causes. Our society has spiritual, emotional, physical, psychological and other deficiencies, but instead of looking at the root causes of those deficiencies, we take drugs. We have created the atmosphere of tolerance.

“We need to see what we are doing to ourselves.”

Next week: What drugs are in Moore County? What do they do?