Jefferson County Will Gain Federal Drug Fight Money

WASHINGTON - After several years of seemingly fruitless effort by north country and New York officials, the federal government has agreed to add Jefferson County to a list of counties that receive extra money to fight drug trafficking.

The county will be added to the New York-New Jersey High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, joining St. Lawrence, Franklin and other counties along or near the Canadian border.

Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, who inherited the effort from former Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, announced the decision, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who had lobbied the Obama administration on behalf of the region, praised the turn-around by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The designation could result in additional law enforcement officers targeting drug trafficking in the county, particularly the movement of high-potency marijuana and ecstasy, as well as narcotics.

"For years, we have fought to secure a HIDTA designation for Jefferson County, and finally we have achieved our goal of ensuring that local officials are properly supported to fight drug smugglers and combat drug related violence," Mr. Schumer said in a statement. "After Jefferson was wrongly denied a HIDTA designation last year, I promised to keep up the fight, and today we have been vindicated."

Mr. Owens had urged the administration in March to add Jefferson County, writing to the director of the national drug office, Gil Kerlikowske, that Jefferson County "presents a significant threat for cross-border importation of illegal drugs."

St. Lawrence and Franklin counties had an easier time gaining the designation because of their proximity to the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, a popular smuggling route. Even in congressional offices, Jefferson County was considered a longer shot because it lacks a connection to the reservation. But it is also home to a port of entry, the Interstate 81 corridor and the Thousand Islands Bridge.