Eight more U.S. counties named to White House drug-trafficking list
The White House says High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas help coordinate police efforts to combat drug use and production.
June 20th, 2011
12:50 PM ET

Eight more U.S. counties named to White House drug-trafficking list

New York's, Washington's and Atlanta's federally designated drug-trafficking zones just got a little bigger.

They're called High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, to be exact, and they're designed to regionally coordinate law enforcement efforts to tackle issues such as drug production, distribution, chronic use and money laundering. Local, state and federal agencies operating in HIDTAs receive extra equipment, technology and other resources to combat drug trafficking.

Approximately 16% of the nation's counties - encompassing a whopping 60% of the population - fall within one of the 28 HIDTAs, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

You can now add the following to the list: Orange County, New York; Mendocino County, California; Porter County, Indiana; Harford County, Maryland; Lexington and Richland counties, South Carolina; and Putnam and Mercer counties, West Virginia.

Border and port cities compose the majority of the HIDTAs, and some areas may cover multiple states. New York and New Jersey are in the same HIDTA, for instance, and Atlanta's HIDTA extends to North Carolina.

"Close collaboration with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners is a critical component of our efforts to reduce both the demand and supply of drugs," ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske said in a statement. "By designating these counties as HIDTAs, we will create a powerful catalyst for cooperation among federal, state, local and tribal agencies working to make our communities healthier and safer.â€

Comprehensive efforts to address drug-related issues over the last three decades have resulted in an American drug use rate that is about half of what it was in the late 1970s, according to the statement. The Obama administration, it said, has committed more than $10 billion to drug-education programs and treatment for addicts, and more than $9 billion to law enforcement efforts.

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Filed under: Barack Obama • California • Crime • Drug violence • Drugs • Indiana • Maryland • New York • Politics • South Carolina • U.S. • West Virginia
soundoff (173 Responses)
  1. gung hoe

    Hey who needs pot just watched a show on the vanguard channel called something like the oxycontin train and let me tell you broward county fla if you have a headache in broward you can get oxycontin pain clinics have full page ads with 2 for1 coupons you dont have to worry about getting busted its legal dont worry alot of people come there from out of state they showed severaj from as far as northern ohio

    June 20, 2011 at 5:15 pm | Report abuse |
  2. MassiveMarbles

    The US Government freety allow these drugs...Caffeine, Tabacco, Alcohol, and has allowed the FDA to permit Pharmaceutical companies the right to push drugs which may cause bleeding, diarhhea, blindess, paralysis, and death. Basically there are NO GOOD or BAD drugs, but there are drugs that the USA use as a sca;eglate. to dump tons of money into for their own private projects. So Billions of dollars disappear into some secret government project AND they also get the spoils from their successful raids and they keep poorer countries in check by now allowing their crops to bring THOSE countries into the Industrial age, so their still living in dirt huts. Its America's way to control the world!!!

    June 20, 2011 at 5:15 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    @ Just Me:
    Thank you for wondering about my age.
    You must be very intelligent, since you have learned that a person's age can be determined by what he thinks: since our society is evolving so rapidly and positively, all of us want to know the latest thing thought by young persons so that we can think whatever that happens to be.
    I try to keep up as well as I can.
    My nurses tell me that I am one hundred thirteen years of age, but I really can't remember anymore. I think they have a computer to figure it out for them, or something.
    Isn't that the manner in which young persons reason today?
    God bless.

    June 20, 2011 at 5:28 pm | Report abuse |
    • Iconoclast

      In spite of your making a humorous point Joey there is some truth in what you're saying. It's not the opinions being expressed that help us identify age as much as how the arguments are expressed. Members of the oldest generation tend to have a faith in their government that younger people (age 65 or less) don't share. Memebers of the oldest generation will voice fears and slogans almost as if they were quoting from the government propoganda bible and rarely do you hears views or opinions that are based upon personal fact they have experienced. When asked to provide specific facts to support their arguments they tend to be flustered because outside of "the government says" there really aren't any they can provide and at that point they become almost hateful that anybody could think differently.

      June 20, 2011 at 6:22 pm | Report abuse |
  4. John Chase

    The Controlled Substances Act of the U.S. is the most destructive law since the states' Jim Crow laws of the Old South.

    June 20, 2011 at 5:58 pm | Report abuse |
  5. ObamaBinBadagin

    Easy – just stop every car driven by hispanics. Game over.

    June 20, 2011 at 6:36 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    @ iconoclast,
    You must have missed my posts about the FDA food pyramid.
    I'm almost sure that I've never used "the government says" to back up anything I said, but since I passed my 110th birthday I haven't been too sure.
    I do believe that we landed on the moon, as my doctors assure me, and how are the President and Bess doing these days?

    June 20, 2011 at 6:54 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    I have remembered more ways in which it is vastly better to be young these days.
    When I was a lad in the USA, we were not as large bodies as are children today–I borrowed that phrase from an old-time writer, James Agee, who was also unfortunately Southern. Children in my day ran and played too much to weigh enough.
    In addition, we did not write in English with the free style used today. We had to learn the differences between "may" and "might," and we used punctuation.
    Ah, the Youth of America!
    How brilliantly they are leading us to prosperity!

    June 20, 2011 at 7:40 pm | Report abuse |
    • Nikiecrewet

      Interesting concept: cross-contamination of blogs I'm going to have to intsivegate for myself.Once again, you have opened my eyes to a larger world. Thank you!

      April 23, 2012 at 10:31 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    "We could use a guy like Ezio Pinza again...
    "Those were the days!"

    June 20, 2011 at 8:23 pm | Report abuse |
  9. flarnkingsgargle

    Mendocino, Cali just got put on the list? They are one of the three parts of the green triangle! That's pot central! Our government is terrible at identifying where drugs are located. Oh well, I guess we'll keep funding their efforts.

    June 21, 2011 at 3:42 am | Report abuse |
  10. RN-Maryjane

    Wow our government is putting Harford county, which is an innocent farm county that grows a little pot once in a while. They really need to do some real research and stop spending our tax dollars for cops to bust medical marijuana growers that help people suffering from cancer and hundreds of other illnesses and diseases. It's a disgrace that the US is supposed to be the land of the free but you can't even grow a plant without getting years in prison. They need to change around their priorities and spend our hard earned tax dollars on the real criminals that are killing and raping women and children on a daily basis. I hope somebody gets into office one day with a brain

    June 30, 2011 at 11:16 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Jackmarry

    Corporate Video and Film was launched in 1979 with one goal in mind, video production orange countyto provide Southern California with exceptional high quality video production to help companies creatively tell their story through the power of video.

    September 29, 2011 at 5:13 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Denny

    I would be happier with Twitter if they iluncded a flag as spammer button. The process of follow Twitter's spam account, and send us a direct message with the user names of spammers who follow you. We'll investigate! is not intuitive. Anyone would think that Twitter wants to minimise the number of reports they have to investigate

    April 22, 2012 at 1:02 am | Report abuse |
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