By K.M. Spence
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Over the past decade, police have been trying to teach high school and college students to not use any illegal drugs. These have been a common problem for the Fort Collins area schools and need to be stopped. Students, who use these, are more likely to fail out of school and have many health problems in their lifetime. Police have tried to influence students to take an alternate route and have attempted to end the drug usage around Colorado State University’s campus.
“We have really tried to crack down on and around CSU’s campus,” said Colorado State University Police Department Corporal Rodney Smith. “Drugs have become a larger problem in the past years than normal”.
Around the United States, police have been trying to stop the use of drugs. The Drug Enforcement Agency for the past few years have been trying to stop the drug trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Drugs are a huge problem for Colorado in both the Northern and Southern parts. The different drugs that come from Mexico are eventually put into students hands and the DEA are trying hard to stop this.
The main drug problem that is seen around Fort Collins is marijuana. Many students come in contact with this drug sometime in their life and police are trying to stop this from being the trend. According to Saferchoice.org, “47% of students have tried marijuana, along with many other addictive drugs including alcohol”.
According to CSUPD Officer Michelle Inge, “The main drug that we see around Fort Collins is marijuana. Each weekend as we patrol the neighborhoods, some parties that we stop have either the smell or some residue left from marijuana.”
Also, through the common problem of medical marijuana, law enforcement officials have been trying to stop the illegal abuse of this. More people have been trying to pass documents off as doctor’s notes to seize marijuana.
“This has also become an issue. Many college students see these dispensaries around town and see it as an open opportunity,” said Smith. “It is more common for this problem to arise in Denver, but we do see it.”
Colorado has been known for being a huge drug filled state, for especially, meth. The state has tried to stop this by using different marketing campaigns and law enforcement stepping in. Many cities around the state have been known to have had drug related problems with them.
“I grew up in Greeley and saw many people from my high school go to jail for drug related crimes,” said a student who chose to remain anonymous. “Now my younger sister goes there and the problem is even worse, police really need to start getting involved.”
On Thursday, Oct. 21, the DEA ambushed some homes in Colorado Springs to seize illegal drugs out of Mexico. This operation was a part of the nationwide investigation called, “Project Deliverance”. There are many U.S. based cells suspected of bringing illegal drugs over the border.
“We are trying our hardest to stop the use of drugs in northern Colorado,” said Smith. “The first thing on this list is to make sure that students know fully the complications that come along with using drugs”.
You had a lot of really good sources and some good quotes. I like how you talked to the police as well as a Colorado State University student because it added more depth to the story. However, some parts were confusing to read. Also, the article didn't seem very timely.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very intresting story! I like how you included what the police said, ect. I think you could have touched a little more on the growing meth problem because that is a little more severe, but you brought some really good facts to the table. What is really going on in Fort Collins to stop the growing drug problem? This could have been something to ask the police. However overall I really liked your story, it was intresting and informative at the same time. Good Job :)
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