Support for HIDTA application

Statement

Commonwealth Attorney General Ed Manibusan requested in June that I support his effort to have the Marianas designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and I quickly did so with a letter to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. This week, Deputy Director James Carroll let me know that the petition to add the Northern Marianas as part of the HIDTA program has been received and that my letter of support has been included as part of that submission. Illicit drugs, especially methamphetamine or ice, have taken a terrible toll on our community. Ice has been associated with organized crime, homicides, sexual assaults, armed robberies, domestic violence, child abuse, and crimes against property. According to the Commonwealth Department of Public Safety, there have been 200 drug arrests over the last two years. Designation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the federal resources it brings will help stem the flow of drugs into our islands, making them a safer and healthier place for us all to live.

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