ONDCP

Marietta, Nov 20, 2006 -

John Walters, the Director of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush’s “Drug Czar,” heralded progress reducing drug use in Georgia and today announced the designation of Cobb county as part of the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program.  The designation will bring an additional $1.1 million in Federal funds to help coordinate Federal, State, and local law enforcement activities against drug trafficking throughout the Atlanta area HIDTA.

Law enforcement officials in Georgia will use the new Federal resources to coordinate investigations and interdiction efforts against drug violence and trafficking. The Atlanta HIDTA was established in 1995, with Federal recognition that the area was a frequent transit point for intrastate drug distribution.  The Atlanta HIDTA is one of 28 regions throughout the country designated as a HIDTA.

Director Walters said, “We know that when we push back against the drug problem in America, it gets smaller.   Over the past four years, there has been a 19 percent decline in the number of young people using drugs.  Thanks to the support of Congressman Phil Gingrey, we will help law enforcement authorities make Georgia even safer by giving them the tools they need to coordinate their efforts against violent drug traffickers.” 

“The battle against drug abuse will not be easily won, but it is critically important to the safety of our children and our community,” said Rep. Phil Gingrey. “Methamphetamine endangers the lives of both abusers and innocent bystanders, and I am proud of the strong stance our law enforcement has taken to eradicate this terrible drug from our neighborhoods.  One of the largest methamphetamine busts in America took place in Smyrna, Georgia, which goes to show the magnitude of this problem but also our effectiveness in fighting it. We must continue giving our law enforcement officials the tools they need to stop meth trafficking.”

The HIDTA program designates regions which exhibit serious drug trafficking problems and harmfully impact other areas of the country. The HIDTA Program provides additional Federal resources to those areas to help eliminate or reduce drug trafficking and its harmful consequences. Law enforcement organizations within HIDTAs assess drug trafficking problems and design specific initiatives to reduce or eliminate the production, manufacture, transportation, distribution and chronic use of illegal drugs and money laundering.

For more information, please visit www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov