Originally Posted by senior citizen (Post 771763)

When have I ever denied the drug issue?
I've mentioned it many times. It's no secret.
It comes from "without".......it is insidious in its nature.
They come in and hook the young and middle aged into using and then selling drugs within the community.

Compared to other states, it really isn't that bad, if truth be told.
It's just that now we've caught up with the rest of society.

I've said over and over how wonderful TV is. We were impressed.
You are taking things totally out of context, I'm afraid.

As far as avoiding it, that's your prerogative. The recent fall foliage traffic was great for tourism within the state. It still is safe. The police have a definite handle on things.........the serious drug lords are in jail. All of the ones rounded up were booked by the end of the first day. IT WAS A HUGE DRUG SWEEP. We are proud of our police and law enforcement.
They have families too and do not want these druggies coming into our state. Again, no secret.

Originally Posted by senior citizen (Post 771789)

I know what you are saying......and I understand. I just can't find it.
Believe me, our townspeople (all 16,000 souls) abhor it and want it to end. We trust our police to do their job.
40 some were arrested out of 16,000. Among them were the Drug Lords from "away" as the cops said.
I think a "scare" was put into them, hopefully, anyway. Springfield, VT. with a pop. of 10,000 had a drug sweep with 30 arrested and jailed.
Rutland City, one hour north of us, ditto. So, yes, it is here.
But there still are worse places to live........but we are more aware, for sure.

I just found this:

America continues to wage its war on drugs. Drug use and drug trafficking has come to be expected in large cities, but size doesn't matter when it comes to drugs. It is affecting both large and small American cities.

An example is Missoula, Montana, a beautiful western state surrounded by national forests with a population of around 67,000. According to a survey by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, this city had the highest rate of illicit drug use with 13.8 percent usage per household polled. They also have a huge methamphetamine problem with 50 percent of adult incarcerations due to meth.

Just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico is a little town called Española with a population of about 10,000. This little town ranks among the top ten in the nation for drug overdoses. They have 42.5 drug-related deaths per 100,000, compared with the national average of 7.3. In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that cocaine and crack are D.C.'s worst drug problems with the second ward having the highest rate of cocaine use of any area polled in the nation.

Chicago, New York and Boston have the highest herion-related hospital admissions in the country, and Baltimore and San Francisco have the highest numbers of heroin addicts and heroin-related crime of any cities in the nation, according to the DEA. New Orleans has one of the highest crack problems which has also led to their leading the nation in murder--95 per 100,000 people--that are known to be directly related to drugs.

Columbus, Ohio, rated by Forbes as #29 in the Top 50 Safest Cities to Live, in 2011 reached an all-time high in drug overdose deaths with 1,765 deaths. According to The Columbus Dispatch, one Ohioan died every five hours that year from a drug over-dose. In fact, since 1999, Columbus' drug overdose deaths have increased 440 percent. The drug problems appear to be pain killers such as OxyContin. From 1997 to 2010, prescriptions for OxyContin increased from 7 to 67 during this period, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

Originally Posted by senior citizen (Post 771803)

My husband said that if she is reading that our drug problem in Vermont is the worst in the nation.......then it must be because of our small population.
In other words, it's in relation to the small population.

Senior, hit on the link under post #17. The drug use cited for Vermont is per capita, so if Vermont was more populated, the problem may be even bigger yet. It's not the end of the world for Vermont.

All of this discourse is in correlation to your statement that you can't figure why everyone gets upset about a book that embellishes unsavory statements about The Villages.

My response was a comparison from me stating your reaction if negative things were embellished about Vermont, you would be upset too. You ARE upset when Vermont is displayed in a less than decent way and you should be. Now perhaps you understand why that book upsets many in The Villages.

Originally Posted by senior citizen (Post 771763)

When have I ever denied the (Vermont) drug issue? It comes from "without".
Compared to other states, it really isn't that bad, if truth be told.
It's just that now we've caught up with the rest of society.