A war worth fighting
Now is not a good time to be a drug dealer in Scott County.Those who are, whether they’re hard-core pushers of illegal drugs or whether they dabble in selling prescription pills on the side, may soon find law enforcement officers knocking on their door with arrest warrant in hand, as dozens of Scott Countians have found over the past several months.
The 8th Judicial District Drug Task Force, comprised of law enforcement in the five counties of the district (including Fentress, Campbell, Claiborne and Union in addition to Scott), has stepped up its efforts to combat illegal drugs. The Oneida Police Department has also played a big role in the battle being waged by the Drug Task Force, devoting personnel and man hours to the effort. The Scott County Sheriff’s Department has also devoted personnel to the Drug Task Force, and the Winfield Police Department has cooperated in the efforts to combat illegal drugs as well.
Virtually every law enforcement agency around — including the Tennessee Highway Patrol in addition to the three local agencies and the task force — has played a role of some sort in the drug sting that has been the source of dozens of drug indictments.
The attention on illegal drugs was heightened in November, when 17 indictments were returned by the Scott County Grand Jury, charging individuals with selling drugs. All-told, the Grand Jury has now returned 64 indictments, for a total of 69 individuals charged, over the past eight months.
In addition, a total of six people in Scott County have now been charged with fraudulent TennCare claims, a number that is likely to increase as the Tennessee Office of Inspector General steps up its investigation and prosecution of illegal TennCare claims in Scott County and across the state. It is a felony to falsify documents to obtain TennCare benefits for the purpose of selling the drugs.
What is unique about the charges that have been levied so far by local law enforcement as part of the massive drug sting is that none of the 69 people charged are charged with simply using drugs. Everyone charged to date has been accused of selling drugs, which range from prescription drugs to Morphine, marijuana and methamphetamine.
Eliminating illegal drugs is a pipe dream; politicians no longer even bother with making campaign promises of eliminating drugs. But illegal drugs can be combatted in such a way that their negative impact on our community is effectively limited. Even if drug pushers cannot be convinced through the threat of prosecution to stop selling drugs, if they’re more cautious about who they’re selling to, our streets and children will be a little safer as the end result.
Since November 2006, 64 separate cases of individuals selling drugs have been or will be prosecuted in the criminal court system. During the same time frame, we have seen a major meth pipeline from Georgia disrupted by the Oneida Police Department, with cooperation from all of the above-mentioned agencies, as well as the Tennessee and Georgia bureaus of investigation. We have also seen the Sheriff’s Department step up its war against drugs by recently implementing the federal HIDA program.
There has also been continued growth of the local Drug Court, a program implemented by General Sessions Judge James L. (Jamie) Cotton, Jr. A ground-breaking concept, the purpose of the Drug Court is to rehabilitate non-violent drug users rather than fill our local jail — which is already at its capacity of around 50 inmates — and bog down the regular court dockets with offenders who are often guilty only of drug addiction and are not a threat to society.
The Oneida Police Department, Eighth Judicial District Drug Task Force, other local agencies, and the individual officers playing crucial roles in the war on drugs have contributed countless man hours and late nights to combating illegal drugs throughout our community. It is often said that the war on drugs is a “failed war.” But if local happenings are any indication, law enforcement in Scott County may not be on the verge of stamping out illegal drugs, but headway is certainly being made. All are to be commended for their efforts.
— Ben Garrett,
Editor
