Marijuana Policy Project

Washoe County on Tuesday was designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and will receive $500,000 to fight drug trafficking, namely methamphetamine.

John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, made the announcement along with U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Reno, during a news conference at the Regional Public Safety Training Center.

Clark County had been the only HIDTA area in the state. Authorities touted Southern Nevada's HIDTA success as the driving force to include Northern Nevada in the program. Gibbons said the additional funding will allow for more investigations and joint operations.

Walters said Washoe County has made significant progress reducing its methamphetamine and marijuana use, but the threat of Mexican trafficking organizations "looms large." He credited news media for portraying the horrors of meth and getting the message to the public.

"You're not glamorizing it," he told reporters.

Gibbons said Interstate 80 and I-5 are key transit corridors for illegal drugs into the state.

"Meth is in every county and law enforcement around the state has said that meth is their number one challenge," Gibbons said. "Nevada ends up being the crossroads for the transportation of drugs."

Washoe County Undersheriff Mike Haley said the money will help fight meth.

"It's a very serious problem we're facing and we need to hit meth head on," he said. "With our collective leadership, we can tackle the problem and beat it."

Mark Snyder, Drug Enforcement Administration supervisory agent in the Reno office, said the money will be given to the local task force. He said the HIDTA designation pools resources and intelligence gathering together and improves the abilities of the task force.

"Like anything, we can't guarantee results, but this will give officers more tools to do their jobs and hopefully get results," he said.

The Nevada HIDTA is one of 28 across the country.