As retirement approaches for Cadiz Police Chief Duncan Wiggins, he’s passing along his insight and knowledge to those who inquire.
He had such an audience for Thursday’s Trigg County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly “Lunch And Learn” — in which he gave full introspection for local businesses, and how they can deal with the ever-changing landscape of legal and illegal drug use in the community.
Among the highest of interest: the almost-certain reclassification of medical and recreational marijuana in Kentucky. Already the Commonwealth and Gov. Andy Beshear have addressed medical cannabis and its importance, and as other states move toward dispensaries, so, too, will the Bluegrass State.
Wiggins noted “it’s coming,” and called the natural plant “the least of his worries.”
But just because he’s “not worried,” doesn’t mean he’s not concerned.
Wiggins said marijuana’s imminent legalization would “not be a lot of fun” for county administrators and businesses in the coming years, as they’ll have to determine their own policies, definitions and perhaps consider treatment and early prevention programs for those who may want or need it.
And there’s perhaps an unforeseen circumstance with the likely legalization of weed.
For decades, K-9 units have been trained to sniff and hit on the depressant. Wiggins said that has to change.
Wiggins also noted that, for better or worse, a number of factors have changed Trigg County, Cadiz and its active drug scene. He said the mass exodus from the West Coast to rural America has played a large part in urbanizing rural counties, and that a thoroughfare like I-24 brings its own share of visitors and issues to the table.
He also noted that Trigg County isn’t actually known for its drug manufacturing, but certainly its importation and trafficking, with crystal clear methamphetamine and opioids the most recent trends brought to their office.
In this particular case, Wiggins said their business policy was to “notify a supervisor” before “notifying emergency personnel” of an incident — a practice worth openly questioning.
It’s also worth mentioning that a string of unrelated murders in Trigg County have been allegedly tied to drug use and drug addiction, and Wiggins urged that it’s extremely difficult to investigate issues and trends like these without the assistance of regional and state authorities.
Agencies like the Cadiz Police Department and the Trigg County Sheriff’s Office, Wiggins added, are “uniform agencies” — smaller units that can inform larger, better equipped groups like the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force.
Trigg County and Cadiz continue to host strong attractions for visitors, and will continue to do so. But Wiggins said if “anything looks out of place,” let the local authorities know and they’ll give due diligence.
Some numbers from Wiggins:
— Cadiz City Police averages 500 calls of service a month with nine officers on call, and that’s 6,000 calls a year. The Trigg County Sheriff’s Office manages closer to double or triple that. The city is roughly 3 square miles of jurisdiction, and the county is 442 square miles along with Land Between the Lakes.
— And businesses with looser, less-strict drug policies are typically 25-to-35% less effective than similar organizations with better structure and support.
