http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=3059665They say the effort would be affected most in smaller towns and rural areas where police have fewer resources and abuse of prescription pills and methamphetamine is rampant. President Bush has proposed cutting the budget for the national High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program by more than 50 percent.
In Kentucky, 27 counties in the eastern and southern part of the state are in the Appalachia H-I-D-T-A, which provides money for task forces of federal, state and local officers to investigate drug trafficking.
The President also has proposed eliminating a separate pot of money that supports local drug task forces and other crime initiatives.