Two cases show depth of drug epidemic in area
The details of two drug cases prosecuted locally last week gave a picture of just how omnipresent and developed the illegal drug trade is in our area.
The U.S. Attorney’s offices indicted 11 people in federal court for a heroin distribution network that has been operating in Williamsport and Clinton County since 2014.
The leader of the gang supplied heroin he obtained in New York City to sell to other dealers and customers.
The group allegedly traveled by vehicle to New York for the purpose of obtaining, transporting and delivering drugs for distribution in Williamsport, Mill Hall and Renovo.
Besides heroin, the group dealt party drugs and pain relievers as well as illegal firearms.
Meanwhile, in Lycoming County Court, a woman was sentenced to one to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to operating a methamphetamine lab in her South Williamsport home a short walk from the Little League Baseball Complex.
Local firefighters discovered the lab while putting out a fire in November at the residence where the woman and a man were living with an 8-year-old child.
More than 20 items thought to be used in the making of the drug were removed from the structure.
So, it can be New York City as the source, or it can be the house next door. The illegal drug market in our area is all too real. It must be unraveled and stopped.
Authorities have a mountainous task, and it is made steeper by the temptation of illegal drugs that potential users feel. That population seems to keep mounting.
The only real way to stop all of this madness is a new dedication in every home to teach that none of this is an answer. All it is is a dead-end lifestyle that leads to an unproductive existence that very often ends in miserable addiction and, ultimately, death.
That message needs to be hammered home to our youth and the susceptible of all ages, cultures and economic classes before the purchase by way of New York City or a local drug lab is made. That’s the only truly winning game plan we know of in this fight.
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