By Brice Burge We have problems with methamphetamine like everywhere else in the Midwest right now, so it’s time to have a serious talk about the dangers of the drug. The problem is that conversation can go in dozens of directions, ranging from preventing the creation of the drug, what to do if someone is in direct harm from methamphetamine use and how to rehabilitate those looking to get clean fairly.

But while this daunting task challenges our community, we are already using tons of resources in the prosecution of charges stemming from meth arrests. Our district and circuit court schedules are overloaded with drug charges and I’m starting to doubt whether or not we can feasibly and successfully adjudicate these matters. That is not a shot at our local law enforcement by any means. Increased workloads increase the opportunities for someone to drop the ball and honest mistakes can impact a person forever, whether they are victim, defendant, witness or law enforcement. As a community, I think overworking our legal system is not a standard we want to set.

If we need additional resources, then the easiest way to approach this is with an extra prosecutor, specifically one that handles drug cases. Since Alger County bought into the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Taskforce (UPSET), busts have increased in the county. These cases are usually drug traffickers, and it comes with mountains of evidence. That turns into a lot of extra work for our prosecutors office.

That extra work then takes away time and resources from other cases with more pronounced victims like assault and bodily harm.

It also delays rehabilitation for those with non-violent crimes and limits the rights of those awaiting a court date. Nobody is waiving their right to a speedy trial so some loser drug trafficker can clog up the court system, but loser drug traffickers are going to do whatever it takes to get them off and are perfectly fine sacrificing our neighbors’ Sixth Amendment rights to play into their defense.

The other counties in our 11th Circuit Court are also facing increased work loads due to drugs and, sadly, it looks like this is an ongoing problem for us all. Combining resources to have a prosecutor that can take on larger drug busts would be an excellent chance to tackle this issue.

The four counties of Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft already combine for other issues like our state-mandated health authority and paying for Friend of the Court services. An extra coalition to finance a shared prosecutor will keep costs down for all parties and a specialization of prosecutorial skills means the public is getting the best possible option for the prosecution of drug-related charges. If the four counties can’t get a deal done, looking to split an extra prosecutor between Schoolcraft and Alger in association with 93rd District Court also makes sense.

Drug abuse sends many ugly ripples through our community. If we can limit the effects of one way meth hurts us societally, we should investigate its feasibility.