Colombia keeps the pressure on narcoterrorists. Reuters is reporting the following:

"BOGOTA, Colombia, Oct 30 (Reuters)—Colombia captured a top cocaine trafficker wanted for extradition by the United States in a jungle commando raid on Sunday after a firefight with his paramilitary bodyguards, police said.

John Eidelber Cano, a leader of the violent Norte del Valle cartel which is accused of smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the United States, was arrested near the town of Caucasia in Antioquia province, Colombia's national police said in a statement.

Cano, who has a $5 million government reward on his head, was captured when helicopters and assault troops swooped on his jungle hiding place where he was guarded by about 20 members of a right-wing paramilitary. All the guards escaped after a short gunfight, the statement said."

A sad item out of Tijuana. Fox News reports:

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TIJUANA, Mexico—A Roman Catholic priest was found shot to death in his car with his hands cuffed in the rough border city of Tijuana on Monday, in what police said appeared to be an organized-crime killing.

Tijuana Bishop Rafael Romo said "the Church has been wounded," and called on city residents to unite against the drug and crime-fueled violence along Mexico's border.

"We feel wounded by this violence ... because we hear about it every day, and now it has hit us," said Romo. "It is no longer time to wait and see which of us gets hit next, but rather to realize that we must unite in this battle against crime."

On October 25th, Deputy Director Mary Ann Solberg visited El Paso, TX to award a half-million dollar Drug-Free Community grant to the Alliance of Border Coalitions. The Alliance of Border Coalitions is a unique coalition and the first of its kind. Created in 2004 the coalition is working to give a unified voice concerning substance abuse issues unique to Border States. Working as a bi-national coalition, the Alliance is comprised of two representatives from the four U.S. border states and six Mexican border states. Through the collaboration, the coalition aims to develop and sustain a strong, equitable effective bi-national alliance of border coalitions and networks to reduce substance abuse rates, alcohol abuse, and related problems.

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

"The money from the Office of National Drug Control Policy will be used to expand the testing, and members of the school board plan to soon discuss the possibility of randomly testing students for steroids. The additional money might also make it possible to expand the pool of students tested for alcohol and drugs in general to include those who drive to school. As it is now, the system requires students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as clubs and athletics, to agree to be tested for drugs. Students who test positive must agree to drug treatment, or lose their extracurricular privileges.

School officials must keep the testing program as unobtrusive as possible. And they need to find a way to get more students who test positive to enter treatment. During the six years that the system has had the program, there has never been a year when more than 52 percent of those students entered treatment.

Learn more about Student Drug Testing on the ONDCP Web site.

Yet the number of students testing positive during that time has dropped, from 4.6 percent in 1999–2000 to 2.9 percent in 2004–05. All in all, programs to prevent drug and alcohol abuse have paid off for the school system in more clean and sober students and in more grant money to continue the work in prevention. Now it's time to do just that. This is a job that doesn't end."

The Winston-Salem Journal reports on yesterday's visit:

"The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system's random drug-testing program, a rarity in the country when it became systemwide in 1998, yesterday received a cash infusion that might allow it to begin testing students for steroids.

John Walters, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, visited Carver High School yesterday to congratulate school officials and students for winning an $800,000 federal grant. Some 54 other school systems across the country also received grants.

"We're extremely impressed at the leadership this school has given," Walters told the crowd of about 50 school officials, students and state anti-drug crusaders.

The "It's My Call/It's Our Call" drug-testing program began at Carver in 1992, and was expanded to the entire school system in 1998.

The new federal money, which will be spread out over four years, will allow the schools to expand the testing. Members of the school board plan to discuss next week the possibility of testing students for steroids, said Don Martin, the superintendent of schools.

Right now, the school system requires students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as clubs and athletics, to agree to be tested.

The additional grant money might make it possible to expand that pool of students to include those who drive to or from school, Martin said.

"The amount of money we have in this grant should include a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in the number of (students undergoing) drug testing," he said.

Last year, the school system tested the largest number of students in its program's history—2,398—with the testing of 30 percent of students enrolled in extracurricular activities, up from 20 percent the year before.

During the program's six years, the percentage of students who test positive has dropped, from 4.6 percent in 1999–00 to 2.9 percent in 2004–05."

The Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Education today announced the release of Federal grants for schools to implement random student drug testing programs to help more young Americans avoid the trap of addiction. Student drug testing grants extend the benefits of early intervention programs that have been proven in government, military, education, transportation, and private sector workplaces. Student drug testing is part of a balanced strategy that places appropriate emphasis on treatment, community action, and prevention.

“Parents and school administrators are not powerless against the drug problem. Random student drug testing is a powerful, proven tool that communities can use to prevent drug use and identify young people who have started on the path toward drug addiction,” said John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “Drug testing makes our young people safer and helps shield them against a major public health threat that has ruined so many lives. While youth drug use is down 17 percent over the last three years, there are still too many teens using drugs. That is why we must continue to develop programs, such as random student drug testing that prevents use and provides needed treatment to those who have already begun.”

“Drug use interferes with a student’s ability to learn. It also disrupts the orderly environment necessary for all students to succeed. Reducing the likelihood of disruptive behaviors benefits everyone,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. “The 55 grants going to over 350 schools through this program are investing in a worthwhile and beneficial tool by helping to reduce the number of students who are using drugs.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Drug Testing Demonstration Grants are part of the solution. Fifty-five grants were awarded to school districts that will go to fund random student

Learn more about Student Drug Testing on the ONDCP Web site.

drug testing programs in 352 schools. The competitive grant program supports schools in the design and implementation of a confidential and non-punitive program to randomly screen selected students and to intervene with assessment, referral, and intervention for students whose test results indicate they have used illicit drugs.

Read the whole press release on the ONDCP Web site.

Great item out of the UK.

"HEATHER MILLS McCARTNEY is appalled by the declassification of marijuana in Britain—because she thinks all drugs are "disgusting".

The model and activist, who is married to former pot smoker SIR PAUL McCARTNEY, insists she has never understood why anyone uses recreational drugs—and always berates those who think it's OK to puff in front of her.

She says, "I used to say, 'Only losers do drugs, you've got to go for some therapy, what's the matter with you?.'...

"I'm horrified that it's been declassified in England. It's horrific... All drugs are disgusting."

The Associated Press reports:

"As local school districts grapple with keeping illegal drugs from students, some are turning to random drug testing. At least two have added random drug testing this fall, and more could be on the way.

"It's not such a radical movement right now," said John Akers, executive director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety. "But it's a slow moving, steady moving trend right now toward drug testing....

Pulaski County, like many others, is paying for its drug tests with a federal grant, Gaskin said. Pulaski is among those districts that test students who drive to school and those involved in competitive extracurricular activities, Gaskin said.....

While some may have concerns about privacy, those matters get "trumped"

Learn more about Student Drug Testing on the ONDCP Web site.

when it comes to student safety, Akers said.

"This is a societal problem and schools need all the help that we can get to help address things. And it starts at home, churches and synagogues," Akers said. "It is going to take a whole community to address these issues."

The Paris Beacon News covers the latest Drug Free Communities grant award for a local anti-drug coalition working to push back against the meth problem.

"The fight against methamphetamine and other forms of substance abuse in Edgar and Clark Counties took a quantum leap forward Friday. It was standing room only at the Cafe France as Rep. Tim Johnson announced CAMA is the recipient of a $98,686 Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA) grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Your efforts are really dramatic,” said Johnson. “You’ve accomplished a lot because you care.”

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ONDCP's Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center is continuing to distribute the latest high-tech equipment to law enforcement agencies across the country. The latest report comes out of the Bangor Daily News in Maine:

"Three big, fancy suitcases filled with wireless video and audio equipment have arrived at Brewer Police Department, thanks to a technology transfer grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Brewer City Council accepted the gift during Tuesday's council meeting and also learned that a group of graduates of the local citizens police academy is raising funds to purchase more video equipment for the department.

Acting Police Chief Danny Green explained to the council that the new equipment would be used as "an investigative tool."

Keeping an eye on areas where drug activity is suspected is just one use for the equipment, Green said."

AP has the story:

"Federal agents arrested 28 suspects and seized 592 kilograms of cocaine during an overnight raid in Atlanta that dismantled one of the largest drug trafficking cells on the East Coast, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday.

The raid, known as Operation Long Whine, also netted 40 pounds of methamphetamines and $8 million in cash. It was the second major seizure in the agency's four-month-old "Money Trail" initiative to monitor drug money that passes between the United States and Mexico; the first came through arrests made in Denver and Detroit."

To read the DEA's press release, click here.

From the Brown Daily Herald in Rhode Island:

"In the late 1980s, groups for marijuana addicts formed in several West Coast locations and later merged into one organization. MA is patterned after AA and uses the same 12 steps and 12 traditions as the basis for dealing with addiction. The guidelines stress that members should each have a desire to abstain from use, uphold the group's primary purpose and respect the anonymity of the members.

McSharry said it is "no surprise" that most MA chapters are located in liberal college towns, citing chapters in Berkeley, Calif., Madison, Wis., and Ithaca, N.Y., as examples.

Members who have attended other 12-step meetings found that when they brought up their marijuana problem, they were ostracized for having an addiction perceived to be less harmful than alcoholism or an addiction to other illicit drugs, such as cocaine or heroin.

According to the Brown student, "When you have a problem with pot, you need something specific."

For more information on Marijuana Anonymous, click here.

An estimated one and a half million high school students will take the SATs this fall. At this critical time in teens' academic careers—as they look ahead to college and their futures—the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and education and health leaders have partnered to launch an ad campaign targeting parents. An "Open Letter to Parents," titled "Marijuana Could Threaten Your Teen's Success," has begun appearing in national and local newspapers, including The New York Times and USA Today, as well as in Time, Newsweek and People magazines.

Fourteen health and education organizations across the country have signed on to the Open Letter, including: American Academy of Family Physicians; American Council on Education; American School Counselor Association; ASPIRA Association, Inc.; Balfour; Educational Testing Service; Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education; National PTA; National Student Assistance Association; Partnership for a Drug-Free America; Students Against Destructive Decisions; United Negro College Fund; and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Read more about this effort or view the open letter.

The Associated Press reports:

"Suspected leftist rebels killed at least 13 coca harvesters as part of a struggle with far-right paramilitary gangs for control of Colombia's lucrative cocaine trade, police said Wednesday.

The attack occurred between Sunday and Monday in an isolated, largely roadless region near Vistahermosa, 120 miles south of the capital, Bogota, said Gen. Alberto Ruiz of the Colombian National Police.

The farmers were picking coca, the green bush used to make cocaine, for a paramilitary militia when they came under attack from the rival leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Ruiz told The Associated Press.

He said the killings were linked to a territorial fight over control of the coca market and at least 13 coca-pickers were believed killed.

Marijuana flavored lollipops are under fire again from officials working hard against the trivialization of marijuana use. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the story:

"A plastic container filled with marijuana-flavored lollipops sits on the counter at Spencer Gifts in Ross Park Mall, its label beckoning customers to "taste the munchie goodness."

At $1.99 per pop, the "Stoner Pop" candies are one variety of hemp-flavored sweets available in novelty stores and on the Internet. The candies combine an earthy taste and smoky smell with cheeky marketing slogans like "every lick is like taking a hit."

But state Rep. Thomas C. Corrigan, D-Bucks County, doesn't see any humor in the products. He plans to introduce a bill today that would outlaw all candy that tastes like marijuana.

"It is really frightening to develop a taste for marijuana in children through lollipops," he said.

Mr. Corrigan said he was told of the lollipops by a borough councilman in his district, who noticed some for sale in Trenton, N.J. He said he has since heard reports of hemp candy for sale at county fairs, convenience stores and candy stores.....

Mr. Corrigan's bill would outlaw retail sales of both types of candies in Pennsylvania, and he is investigating whether the bill would apply to Internet sales as well."

The Rockford Register in Rockford, Illinois ran an opinion piece today from Thomas Keinz responding to a recent call for drug legalization. He says:

"Many of us are working to get the message out to the younger generation about how dangerous marijuana is and how it is a gateway drug. Studies have proven this. Not only does marijuana affect the mind and judgment, but it affects the body, too.

I belong to the Cherry Valley Regional Drug Free Coalition. We make it our business to help grade school, middle school and high school children get all the facts about the dangers of drugs and alcohol."

To find out more how local anti-drug coalitions are fighting to keep drugs out of our communities, click here: www.ondcp.gov/dfc