County gets designation as drug area

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: It’s not the most desirable designation, but without it Lane County wouldn’t be eligible for the federal funding that could help local law enforcement agencies battle the growing problem of illegal drug activity, particularly heroin and methamphetamine distribution.

U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon announced Tuesday that Lane County has received the designation, joining seven other Oregon counties — Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Marion, Deschutes, Jackson and Douglas — that previously were approved by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy since 1999.

The Warm Springs Reservation in the north-central part of the state also was approved Tuesday for the designation.

Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger said HIDTA counties typically receive between $20,000 and $100,000 a year through the federal program. “Every little bit helps,” he said.

The money could help pay for equipment, overtime pay for detectives or training, and help enhance communication among a­gencies, Burger said. Separate agencies often are looking for the same individuals or groups but aren’t aware of it, he said.

Tuesday’s announcement by the state Medical Examiner’s Office that deaths tied to illegal drug use increased 57 percent in 2009 in Lane County is not related to HIDTA designation for Lane County, Burger said. But the timing could not be better, he added.

“We’ve been trying to get this designation for years,” Burger said.

According to a letter provided Tuesday by Wyden’s office, he and former Sen. Gordon Smith and Rep. Peter DeFazio wrote to the Office of National Drug Control Policy on Dec. 12, 2007, asking for the designation.

In January, Burger, Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner, all of the county’s police chiefs and other law enforcement partner agencies filed a petition with the drug control office to consider Lane County for the HIDTA designation.

The next step for Lane County is to put together an initiative on how the money would be used and send it to the Oregon HIDTA office by Sept. 30, Burger said. He will put the plan together in conjunction with Lane County’s municipal police chiefs, he said.

The presence of fentanyl-laced heroin has significantly increased in Lane County and was the leading cause of overdose deaths in 2009, surpassing methamphetamine, Wyden and Merkley noted in a press release.

To be eligible for the HIDTA designation, area officials must show they have significant illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation or distribution; law enforcement agencies that have committed resources to respond to drug trafficking problems; and a need for a significant increase in federal resources to respond adequately to drug-related activities.

Merkley noted in a prepared statement that the state Medical Examiner’s Office found that heroin caused the deaths of 127 Oregonians in 2009, the most in nine years. “If we want to prevent drugs from devastating our families and our communities, we need to crack down on the criminals peddling them,” Merkley said. “This designation will give local and tribal law enforcement the tools to do exactly that.”