Sixty-seven faces mug shots lined the front page of the newspaper this week. Some were old, some young, some middle-aged. They were black and white, male and female.
Their common bond? Illegal drugs.
And those 67 faces told the story of just how pervasive the drug problem is, crossing boundary lines and socio-economic lines to leave victims in their wake, whether they were friends and family or the ones arrested.
The arrests came as part of a federal and local drug raid operation called FALCON Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally which swept across Talladega County and netted local officers 67 people in jail on 101 different warrants.
Charges ranged from selling or possessing illegal drugs to manufacturing them.
They dealt with methamphetamine labs, selling or possessing cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and pills. And they stemmed from places like Talladega, Lincoln, Munford, Sylacauga, Alpine and Childersburg.
The 67 faces only tell part of this story. They are but snapshots in chapter upon chapter of a problem that has grown and festered over decades, taking its toll on society.
Swelling court dockets, neighborhood crime and wasted lives are tracked back to illegal drugs, and a single roundup of 67 accused in connection with them should telegraph a message throughout the county that the problem lies around every corner. No area is immune.
The lawmen of FALCON are helping tell this story, and it is one that society needs to see and understand. But more important, society needs to help write an end to it.
