Sheriff addresses drug concerns

There are drugs in Sisters -- but the problem here is no more severe than in the other cities in Deschtues County.

That was the assessment Sheriff Les Stiles gave to the Sisters City Council in a scheduled quarterly meeting on Thursday, August 8.

The issue came up in the wake of student surveys last year that indicated a significant percentage of Sisters youth have either tried drugs or used them regularly.

"Yeah, you have drugs here," Stiles said. "You have quite a few drugs here.

"There is a perception that there is a problem and there is also a perception that there is denial in the community that there is a problem."

However, the problem appears to be limited and of relatively low intensity.

Stiles said that, after consulting with deputies and school officials, he concluded that drug use in Sisters conforms to that in Deschutes County in general.

Mayor Steve Wilson noted that Sisters does not show the kind of symptoms associated with high levels of drug use among youth -- poor academic performance, dropouts, crime.

Stiles noted that law enforcement plays only a small part in combating drug use in a community.

"Law enforcement is never going to be the solution to drugs," he said. "The best law enforcement can do is deter (drug use) and displace it."

Instead, it is up to parents, churches and community leaders to create an atmosphere that deters demand for drugs.

City councilors also expressed concern about the rating of Deschutes County as one of the highest drug trafficking counties in the state.

Stiles explained that the high level of drug trafficking perceived by law enforcement and legislators is due to the massive movement of methamphetamine along the Highway 97 corridor.

Highway 97 has become a route for trans-shipment of methamphetamine from "super labs" in the California hinterlands through Oregon and Washington.

"The end of the pipeline for us is Yakima, Washington," Stiles said.