U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) succeeded on Thursday in getting Frederick County, Virginia, designated as a high intensity drug trafficking area (HIDTA), marking her latest victory in combating opioid and heroin addiction.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) designation makes Frederick County law enforcers eligible for additional federal resources and grants to assist in local drug control efforts.
“The community worked together hand-in-hand to get Frederick County designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area,” Comstock said. “Over the past 18 months, we have worked with our sheriffs and commonwealth attorneys, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Substance Abuse Coalition, the Winchester Medical Center and the recovery community on all of the aspects of the heroin problem.”
With 22 overdose deaths recorded in the region already this year and even more hospitalizations, Frederick County is experiencing “the pain and suffering” that accompanies the nation’s drug epidemic, Comstock said.
“Many, if not most, of my constituents can point to a friend or family member who is or has been struggling with substance abuse,” Comstock said. “This designation means that our region will receive additional federal resources to assist in improving coordination among law enforcement, public health officials, educators and concerned citizens to help get treatment and services to those in need while enabling the community to turn the tide against this drug crisis.”
Comstock first requested that Frederick County receive the HIDTA designation in an April 2015 letter in which she noted that the number of overdose deaths jumped from one in 2012 to 33 in 2014.
“A HIDTA designation would help the (Northwest Regional Drug and Gang Task Force) combat what has proven to be an epidemic in the Shenandoah Valley,” Comstock wrote. “The efforts of all the local agencies and organizations have proven to be successful in working across multiple jurisdictions to fight crime, drugs and gangs but need more help to deal with the growing heroin problem.”
Comstock requested the HIDTA designation again in August, noting that heroin arrests had increased in the region from 55 in 2012 to 215 in 2015.
Comstock led a successful amendment to the fiscal year 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act in July that transfers $7 million from the Government Services Administration to the HIDTA program.
“The $7 million this amendment transfers to the HIDTA Program will be critical in our battle against drug traffickers who prey on some of the most vulnerable in our communities,” Comstock said. “This increase in resources will also provide support to state and federal prosecutors to convict the individuals associated with dangerous drug trafficking organizations in our area.”
Comstock also teamed up with local, state and federal law enforcement in 2015 to establish the Heroin Operations Team (HOT). The regional heroin initiative outlined a comprehensive approach that included education, prevention and enforcement in northern Virginian.
“We recognize no community is immune to this epidemic,” Comstock said at the time. “Sadly, those getting caught up in this are often in their 20s and 30s and they don’t realize what an addictive and dangerous drug this is and how much stronger the heroin on the street is than it has been in the past. We must ensure as a community that we educate and inform and do everything we can to get this poison out of our community and stop those peddling it and help those caught up in this deadly drug.”
HOT initiatives included a toll-free hotline for residents to seek help, a new multi-jurisdictional task force to investigate drug rings, a community law enforcement partnership, public outreach and coordination efforts, and ongoing efforts to crackdown on prescription drug abuse.