Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

40 City Residents 'Turn On' To Talk By State Police Sgt.

Drugs kill.

No, this is nothing new, but Tommy Pope, sergeant with the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division gave about 40 people information on the hows and whys drugs kill at the Prescott Housing Authorities Red Ribbon Campaign kickoff, Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Pope opened his talk by showing a 20 minute video, narrated by Mary Tyler Moore on "How to Raise a Drug Free Child."

He then told those present the major drug in this area is crack cocaine. Crack, he said, is generally sold in $20 "rocks," or chunks. In addition, Pope said this drug is the cause of a lot of violent crimes.

A gram of crack goes for $100 on the street, he told the audience. Pope reminded the gathering crack is smoked while cocaine, in its original form is either snorted or injected.

Pope gave his audience some street terminology used by drug users and dealers. He said a hypodermic needle is called a "point," and injecting oneself is called "bumping."

A danger, he said, is people are now mixing cocaine with formaldehyde and "dusting" it on marijuana before selling it. This variety of marijuana is termed "Primo" on the streets, but could prove to be fatal to some when smoked. Formaldehyde is the chemical used by funeral homes to prevent bodies from decomposing.

Pope said some of the drugs popular in the 1960s and 70s are making a comeback, and an unwanted one at that. He said heroin is back with a vengeance and typically comes in three varieties -- Mexican Brown, China White and black tar. Those who use heroin, or "horse" as it's called on the street, are called "junkies."

Another drug of the hippie period making its presence known now is "Angel Dust," or PCP. When this drug was originally invented, it was for useas a tranquilizer for large animals, such as elephants. Those using "Angel Dust," most commonly sprinkled on pot and smoked, experience no fear and feel little or no pain.

The third drug coming back is LSD, or acid. The acid, Pope said, is most commonly found on stamps, especially those with cartoon characters. He said the most typical forms are the purple microdots, orange sunshine and green pyramid, with a fourth type, purple haze, also around. "People can experience flashbacks (trips) as long as seven years after taking a dose, or hit," he said.

"Acid can enter the pores of your skin," Pope continued. "You don't necessarily have to take it orally. The use of acid is on the rise."

A great deal of the drugs coming into Arkansas are coming from Dallas along Interstate 30, better known as the I-30 Pipeline.

Pope said there are a number of people who prefer crystal methamphetamines, or speed. The crystal meth, as it's called, is commonly sold by the gram at a cost of $90 to $120 per gram. An ounce runs between $900 and $1,200 on the streets.

But, as Pope told those present, the most common drug still in use is marijuana; and those growing it are getting more and more ingenious.

In fact, Pope said there are a lot of grower who have gone to indoor growing, making use of chicken houses and old barns, as well as inside their own homes. This pot, once grown and harvested, is taken to California and sold for as much as $5,000 per pound. Each plant can be worth as much as $1,000.

The most popular types of marijuana grown in this area are: Arkansas Homegrown; Mexican; and Afghan.

The growers will go to any length to protect their crops, Pope said. In fact, he and other officers have found fields to be boobytrapped, with the growers using methods learned from theViet Cong during the Vietnamese War. This includes punji sticks, or sticks sharpened to a point, buried in a pit point up and occasionally coated with a toxin.

Another problem officers are facing in their battle against drugs, is with those who manufacture crystal meth. He said people will come to rural areas, such as this, from big cities, buy a house and set up their lab. Once the drug is manufactured, it is taken elsewhere and sold. "They rarely sell where they make it," he said. Motor homes are becoming popular as labs because they are so easily moved from place to place.

If this isn't enough, Pope said young people are into inhalants, or sniffing -- "huffing" as it's called on the streets. Those into "huffing" will sniff items like paint, paint thinner, fingernail polish, airplane glue, cooking sprays, lacquer, gasoline and butane.

"This stuff can be fatal," Pope told his audience. "It does cause brain damage." He said the butane, when sniffed, tends to harden the lungs and make it impossible to breath.