TEXARKANA -- Oklahoma resident Eric Payne says THC found in his system was by prescription, and therefore he was wrongfully terminated as an illegal drug user by the Red River Army Depot.

Acting as his own attorney, Payne is suing Red River for handicap discrimination, harassment, slander and wrongful termination. He wants "illegal drug use" removed from his personnel file and $5.5 million in damages. The suit was filed Oct. 25 in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas.

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There have been many times in years past that I can remember parents having concerns about their children's belief in Santa Clause. Much controversy has existed over the years with regard to whether there is damage done to those who encourage their young children to watch and wait for Santa, to ask him for gifts and to believe in the magic of his appearance.

As time went by, the children were younger each year who truly "believed" that there was such a true-life man. I can remember one time when a little girl told me that "there must be lots of them ‘cause they do not look alike." Well, that is true, so what does a parent say.

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President Bush is asking Congress for a $500 million down payment on a $1.4 billion project to help Mexico battle drug smuggling and border violence.

But the initiative is about more than money; it is also about the growing spirit of cooperation between the two nations, a spirit needed to tackle tough problems.

The project, the Express-News reported, would provide Mexico with crucial tools in its fight against drug lords, including surveillance aircraft, communication equipment and, perhaps more important, aid in ferreting out dirty law enforcement officials.

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Tradition Honors Red Ribbon Week

"No" was the word of the day Friday for Adams Elementary School students as hundreds marched down the streets near Hulen Park to the Guinn Justice Center in Cleburne in recognition of Red Ribbon Week.

A police and fire truck escort led the Adams Alligators, Cleburne High School cheerleaders, student council members, parents and volunteers to the center of Johnson County government. Several prominent members of the community addressed the students about saying no to drugs.

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Re: "Behind Those Red Ribbons -- Anti-drug message needs support from all fronts," Wednesday Editorials.

The Dallas Mornings News editorial supporting President Bush's $1.4 billion request for fighting Mexican drug cartels is misguided and naive.

History has shown that ever since its inception, the war on drugs has utterly failed, succeeding only in rapidly filling prisons with drug addicts.

Despite mainstream depictions, the illicit drug business is much more complicated than a simple juxtaposition of good versus evil. The sums of money involved make it so.

Rather than spend more money for a cause that yields zero results, we should fund recovery programs that help sick people and legalize marijuana, which, unlike alcohol, can't kill you by overdose.

Justin Finney, Austin

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Armed with a $2.5 million federal grant, a new program will try to help drug-addicted pregnant women in Bexar County -- and their babies -- escape addiction and their old lives.

Project Carino, run by the Center for Health Care Services, will accept 36 women a year into a nine-month outpatient program, or about 180 over the next five years, officials said Friday at a news conference.

"Right now I would say we have about 35 pregnant females in (existing) services," said Moses Esquivel, who heads narcotics programs at the center. "They're such a high-need clientele. They really require a lot of attention, a lot of services. They drain us. That's why we looked for this grant, to give us the extra resources to be able to bring more people in and physically address these issues."

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A former narcotics task force deputy who admitted using his position to squeeze money from drug dealers was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in federal prison followed by 200 hours of community service after his release.

Julio Alfonso Lopez, 46, of Zapata, pleaded guilty in July 2006 to extorting $44,500 from drug traffickers to "protect" drug loads coming through Zapata County on the Mexican border.

Meliton Valadez, 33, who pleaded guilty to acting as the middle man between drug traffickers and Lopez, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison followed by 150 hours of community service. Valadez also is from Zapata.

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Re: "Private contractors to have role in U.S.-Mexico drug plan - $1.4 billion program could face uphill battle in Congress," Saturday news story.

Why is the U.S. even sending $44 million to Mexico each year to fight the drug trade?

We should spend the money on our side of the border to keep the drugs and illegal aliens out of our country, and we should let Mexico deal with its own internal problems.

David Malone, Allen

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Over the lifetime of the drug war, we have given U.S. law enforcement more than $1 trillion to stop the flow of drugs. And over that same time frame terrorists, dangerous cartels and violent gangs have received more than $10 trillion to continue the flow.

How can we possibly believe that this basically feeble amount will work to circumvent drug sellers when they make $10 for every $1 we spend trying to stop them?

The money that has been frittered away on this drug war would fill a string of boxcars nine miles long stuffed with hundred dollar bills. How much more?

Dean Becker

Houston

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Recently, my kindergartener emerged from elementary school wearing a shiny red ribbon pinned to her sweater. It was flapping in the cool wind as I held her hand to cross the street, so I couldn't read the embossed gold words.

"What's that ribbon for, sweetie? Did you win something?"

What's this?

"No, Mom," she said as we hurried across the crosswalk. "It says, 'Drug Free My Choice For Life.' " She regurgitated this sentence in robotic staccato, the words like machine-gun fire to my heart.

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On Monday, Red Ribbon Week observations began across the nation to focus students' attention on the dangers of drug abuse. The red ribbon commemorates Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a U.S. counternarcotics agent who was kidnapped, tortured and bludgeoned to death in 1985 while working in northern Mexico.

The killing, and subsequent obstruction by Mexico's government, marked a low point in U.S.-Mexican counternarcotics cooperation. After two decades of mistrust over the affair, agents from the two countries are finally working together again. Mexico has taken the offensive against cartels, accelerating drug-lord extraditions and cracking down on corruption.

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Across Mid County, students are studying the effects of drugs as they participate in the annual Red Ribbon campaign. But this year, parents are getting the education, too.

As students celebrate a drugfree lifestyle, some local parents now have an idea of what to look for in drug-using kids after attending one of three courses aimed at teaching them how to detect if their children are using drugs.

Teresa Burnett, nurse at Woodcrest Elementary in Port Neches and a co-coordinator for the event, said "Drugs 101: What Parents Need to Know" provides basic information to educate adults about signs, symptoms and current trends associated with drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers.

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At a recent truancy court hearing, Pct. 1 Judge Billy Ball decided to drug test all eight students present. "I'd been thinking about it," Ball said. "I wanted to see if there was a correlation. We didn't have a large group, so we decided to test them all."

The testing, performed by juvenile probation, yielded results that surprised the judge. "I was surprised 100 percent tested positive," he said. "I thought maybe half. Is this the basis of truancy? I don't know. But we will be doing more drug testing in the future."

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One Person Really Can Make A Difference

Even those who are familiar with Red Ribbon Week as a campaign in our public schools against drug and alcohol use, might not be aware of the history of the campaign, which is being observed this week.

It honors the memory of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was tortured to death while working undercover, investigating a major drug cartel in Mexico. He had been kidnapped by a group of men while on his way to meet his wife for lunch.

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Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country.

It serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug-free lives.

During this week, Huntsville students will be getting important information from their teachers and special guests about safety, being careful with medicines, and ways to say no to unsafe and unhealthy choices.

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What is our government doing to stop the growing conflict of the war on drugs? I can't necessarily answer that question for you; however I can tell you that a group of very determined, highly educated and extremely persuasive high school seniors are here to help and we go by the name of District Drug Free All Stars. We, as a group, participate in many different community activities, campaigns and school programs that bring awareness to the underage drinking and drug use problems here in Angelina County in the hopes of making a difference in our schools and communities.

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Retired undercover narcotics officer, Jack A. Cole, the Executive Director of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, speaks passionately Wednesday afternoon in the atrium of the Peter T. Flawn Academic Center.

In 1970, narcotics officer Jack Cole went undercover to infiltrate the seedy world of drug pushers, users and abusers. For 14 years, he was a frontline soldier in the U.S. war on drugs.

Cole said he started having reservations about what he was doing three years into the gig, after living and working with the people he was trying to bust.

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Finally, there's a real plan to counter Mexican drug cartels. It's countries fighting as a team.

Pentagon officials announced Tuesday that the U.S. is willing to provide $1.5 billion, while Mexico's portion of the package will be $7 billion. The U.S. will provide equipment, such as helicopters and technology, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon would continue to provide the manpower via his military forces.

It's been clear for a long time that Mexican drug cartels are wreaking devastation in both countries.

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Drug-gang violence that plagues Mexico is worsening and could spill over into the United States, according to a new report by a consultant on Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Border Security Council.

While Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed as many as 20,000 troops and federal police to battle the country's powerful drug cartels, gangsters are fighting among themselves for dominance as the flow of drugs continues into America.

The 17-page document to be released Wednesday said that more than 2,100 people were killed in drug-related violence since Jan. 1, making 2007 the deadliest year yet.

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Students receiving financial aid should think twice before lighting up, shooting up or sniffing up any illegal drugs.

A 2000 law requires that any student with a drug conviction be denied financial aid. So before rolling a joint, opening wide or finding that vein, think about it. As well as destroying the body, drugs also can deprive the mind of education.

According to a report released by the FBI, 829,625 people were arrested last year for marijuana violations, totaling more marijuana arrests than in any other year in U.S history, even counting the 1970s.

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