Crossword Genius

Drugs running in both directions cross county (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

essex

'county' is the definition.
(English county)

'drugs running in both directions cross' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'drugs' could be 'es' (E is a term for an ecstasy pill) and 'es' is present in the answer.
'directions' could be 'se' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'se' is present in the answer.
'cross' could be 'x' (X is cross-shaped) and 'x' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

(Other definitions for essex that I've seen before include "Favourite of Elizabeth I" , "Southend's county" , "County, its tasteless moneyed Man" , "SE English county" , "County near London" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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