October 17th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has announced that Washington County will be included in the Washington/Baltimore regional High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). In August, Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) wrote to the Director of the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA requesting that Washington County be added.
Created in 1988, the HIDTA program facilitates greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions of the United States. The Washington/Baltimore HIDTA is one of eight nationwide.
“We asked that federal officials include Washington County in this important anti-drug trafficking program and are very pleased that they listened. The pain and suffering caused by drugs in Washington County has been tragic and increased federal resources are needed to help the community. Adding Washington County to the HIDTA program is really important, because the only way we’re going to successfully tackle a problem this big and this complex is through coordination and listening to local communities,” said Congressman Delaney.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy recently announced a partnership among regional HIDTA programs to address the heroin epidemic facing those communities. Law enforcement organizations working within HIDTAs assess drug-trafficking issues and design specific initiatives to decrease the production, transportation, distribution, and chronic use of drugs and money laundering.
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