Drugs duck under voters' radar this election

Narcotics in Missouri are low on candidates' priority list.

By Mary Daly

Published Oct. 27, 2008

 As the 2008 election season hits the home stretch, candidates are promising to fight for a better economy and an end to terror in the Middle East. Fighting the war on drugs has taken a backseat to the other issues.

"Missouri still has a significant drug problem even though it is not a top issue in elections," said Tom Murphy, a spokesman from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's St. Louis office.

According to the DEA Web site, Missouri's central location in the United States makes it a key transportation center for drug trafficking organizations. The state's two international airports and three major east-west interstate highways enable drugs to be transported from the southwest border to eastern states.

"Drugs seized in Missouri rarely come from or are bound for the state," Murphy said.

Due to its role as a drug rest stop, Missouri spends a considerable amount of time dealing with the ramifications of drugs.

In 2006, Boone County saw 615 drug-related hospitalizations and 21 deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Mental Health Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. There were also 1,090 alcohol-related hospitalizations and six deaths in 2006.

A major source of funding for Missouri's anti-drug programs is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

In 2008, funding for the grant was cut by 67 percent. The National Association of Attorneys General, including Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, wrote a letter to Congress after the cut, asking for the money to be restored.

Dan Viets, the state coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said police departments around the country are too dependent on grants, such as Byrne-JAG.

"Those police departments need to fight their own addiction to federal grants," Viets said. "That money would be far better spent on drug treatment than on law enforcement."

Viets said federal dollars are being squandered when people are put in prison for drug offenses.

"It's a major problem in our society that we have chosen to throw hundreds of thousands of people into prison for nonviolent crimes," he said. "That's one reason why we don't have enough money to fund things like education or health care."

He said candidates should be discussing getting these people out of jail and putting them back to work.

"Not only is it the incredible direct cost of keeping people in prison but those people also are not working and paying taxes while in prison," Viets said. "They are a total burden on people in society who do work."

MU Wellness Resource Center Director Kim Dude said funding is one of the biggest issues in fighting against drugs.

"Increasing funding for prevention programs would be a wonderful thing for the politicians to do," Dude said. "We also have to make sure the laws do not get any more lenient."