Hard Drugs: Small-Town Coastal ME Cops Face Big Problem

I think the cops in each town know who the local dopers are, I don't know why they just don't crack down on them.

I wonder myself, sometimes, too. Was it last week or the week before that Operation FALCON did their annual (?) nationwide sweep, picking up tens of thousands of fugitives of every stripe, all in the space of a few days? It's a great effort, and makes for good press, but leaves me wondering what law enforcement does about those warrants the other fifty-one weeks of the year.

Perhaps they are to busy sitting on back roads waiting for the very dangerous inspection sticker violations or the even more dangerous seatbelt violations , Tom...Besides this time of year it's more important to catch backyard pot growers....LOL...As long as they get a few pics in the paper of a few pot plants to greatly inflate their worth and keep the police blotter full their job and budget are secure and that's the point after all....

This issue is impacted by the following factors.
These drugs are cheap now. Heroin and coke.
Resources to interdict trade in them. Remember it takes public employees!
Even our highest level state drug enforcement agency only exsists because of local manpower
asssigned to it.
Geography Maine is just an open door of access for sales.
Fast money,at least initially,that attracts people to it. In 38 years of dealing with convicted drug
dealers,users and criminals with drug issues it doesn't last long. I have seen one wealthy drug dealer
who had it when he got in jail and still had it when he was released. Didn't matter cancer got him shortly afterwards.
Do not confuse Federal sweep with local state efforts. Those also take alot of time to put together. Maine is a easy place to hide in plain sight.

These dopers make up almost ALL the crime.

Instead of using a LOT of police to police ALL the people with speed traps, licence checks, etc, - just concentrating on the town's handful of dopeheads would cut substantially down on burglaries, assaults, robbery, vandalism and the general mayhem that causes such irritation in many communities nowadays.

As I said , Tom...It is about adding cops , expanding budgets , new buildings and equiptment..I remember a while back when they just had to exchange their .357 for 9mms with big clips so they "wouldn't be outgunnedby drug dealers".. We have so many shootouts here ya know...LOL...Now it is new buildings , 10,000 dollar stun guns , bicycle cops and segways...It's about the money....

Earl,

I would love to see that $10,000 stun gun. I called a cousin in law enforcement in Oregon...after all it is only 9:30 out there right now. He said that his department didn't spend that much on their stun guns plus training of 40 officers. If you are going to over react then make it realistic or get some realistic looking numbers. Geez.

They were talking about the stun guns on Ch. 13 News for the Portland PD...Check their website maybe ???

Here I did it for you...I was wrong ..They are 12,000 dollar tasers....tasers

Would you rather pull over someone for an inspection sticker or deal with a drug using lowlife? You can't blame the PD for focusing on drivers instead of drug users, drivers don't fight back.

Very true FXSTC...Plus it makes for a better revenue stream for the State , court system and justifaction for the bloated budgets....It's all about the money ....

These are not your typical taser as it turns out as they will have build in cameras with audio feed so you can see and hear what the person is receiving. You will also see more people try that exessive force tactic. These recordings will be admissable in court I would imagine and I would I also hope they don't try to hide this evidence when the defense asks for it.

My biggest concern with these, are for people who have heart conditions or seizure disorders. These electrical charges could cause a heart attack or a stroke or a seizure. The department says if you tell them about a medical condition, then they won't zap you. If things are elevated and stressed and there is yelling by a lot of people...then it might not be heard. Next thing you know the city has a dead person on their hands. I would hope there is a investigative unit set up for when these devices are used.

Maybe part of the solution to freeing up more money or resources to fight the narcotic market is the decriminalization of pot. Let's face it it can't be contained and like alcohol it has to be a personal choice whether to use or not. There is the long standing argument that pot is a "gateway drug" I'm not sure how much weight one can give that given the fact that 99% of us on this blog know individuals who have smoked pot for years and years and who are both valuable ,and contributing members to their communities and have never morphed into herion addicts or the like. I believe that some people are prone to additction and from the first time they get drunk or high they will always look for a bigger high, it's a disease. All the laws in the world won't stop it .

Not that this is a vote for pot over alcohol but there seems to be a lot less violence among the habitual pot smokers... than the habitual drinkers.

The other part is if the police aren't wasting as much time on this they can concentrate on the other .....And as they say in the movies ...follow the money. Known dopers with no visible source of income might lead an astute officer dressed in full assault dress to to believe there was more than meets the eye.

Just as an after thought . A what if , if you will. What if we legalized the growing and sale of pot and the state sold lisences to the growers........$$$$$$$$$$ instead of trying to tax the individual smoker.
And no I don't smoke.

Earl,

I would love to see that $10,000 stun gun. I called a cousin in law enforcement in Oregon...after all it is only 9:30 out there right now. He said that his department didn't spend that much on their stun guns plus training of 40 officers. If you are going to over react then make it realistic or get some realistic looking numbers. Geez.

PMRMSM..

So you call me a liar and accuse me of over reacting and not using "realistic numbers" and you justify it by saying they are not typical tasers...THAT WAS MY POINT...Like you said , your cousin 's department didn't spend that much money on the WHOLE department...Thankyou for helping me make my point...It's ALL ABOUT THE MONEY....Geez , thanks for the apology...LOL....How's that crow taste ??? LOL

".....And as they say in the movies ...follow the money. Known dopers with no visible source of income might lead an astute officer dressed in full assault dress to to believe there was more than meets the eye."

Ya think ?? Especially with new vehicles and toys around the house... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out...Same with houses that have STEADY streams of traffic..I mean , how many "friends" visit that often for a few minutes...LOL..Even stupid little ole me can figure that out...

But is much easier to do those mundane every day tasks expired stickers , speeders, "safety checks".....I've lived down the road for years from a person who everyone knows his source of income is..... dope......never had a job and just keeps buying stuff . Me, I'm scared to go over the speed limit because ir seems there is always a radar check going on...go figure

" Me, I'm scared to go over the speed limit because ir seems there is always a radar check going on...go figure"

You and me both John....

"I think the cops in each town know who the local dopers are, I don't know why they just don't crack down on them."

The jails are full. The "system"makes a conscious choice as to what to prosecute and who to arrest.

That's because the county jails are full of folks who can't or won't pay fines for motor vehicle infractions , oui , and pot posession and are serving time instead...Doing public service is the best way to ease that problem and getting rid of the insane inspection laws , seatbelt laws and legalizing posession of small amounts of pot..IMHO...Instead of sitting on back roads grabbing everyone going a bit over the speed limit , not wearing their seatbelt or God forbid uninspected , and concentrate on the hard stuff and LOCK UP THE ONES WHO SHOULD BE LOCKED UP the jails wouldn't be over crowed with folks who shouldn't be in jail in the first place....Their priorities are upside down.....But we KNOW the reason why...See the previous posts....It's all about the money....