The Superior Court of Guam's adult and juvenile drug courts could be shut down if federal funding for them ceases.

Dan Tydingco, Judiciary of Guam policy and planning administrator, said President Bush's fiscal 2009 budget proposal eliminates drug-court funding for Guam and dozens of U.S. jurisdictions.

Since 2003, Guam's Adult Drug Court and Juvenile Drug Court have helped hundreds of drug offenders become clean and sober through a system that holds them accountable for their actions, while reducing their relapse rate and their involvement with the courts, Pacific Daily News files state.

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AS part of the Prevention and Early Intervention Advisory Community Empowerment's (PEACE commitment to build capacity in substance abuse prevention with Guam's Community Drug-Free Coalitions, a two-day team building training will be held this week at the Outrigger Guam Resort. Community Services and Resources Inc. (CSR), one of Guam's five drug-free coalitions and sub-grantees under the PEACE program, will be hosting the "Building Drug-Free Coalitions" training on Feb. 8 and 9.

Participants of the two-day training will engage in a variety of team building exercises including water sports and activities that promote collaboration and understanding of cultural diversity among the coalitions.

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Addressing the island's drug problem will take a community effort, said local and federal officials yesterday as they joined the country in a week-long drug prevention campaign.

In 2005, 19.8 percent of high school seniors, 15.2 percent of 10th graders and 6.6 percent of eighth graders abused marijuana in one month, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

More Guam youth have tried marijuana by the time they turn 13 than U.S. youth in general in 2003, according to the Guam Substance Abuse Epidemiological Profile. The local statistics also show that in 2003, lifetime and current marijuana use were higher in Guam youth than the U.S. national average.

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Thinking about renting your first apartment, or moving into a different one?

Or, maybe you're tempted to buy an existing house at a great price?

You might want to consider visiting the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Web site before you do either.

The U.S. DEA has, on its Web site, what could be the equivalent of the National Sex Offender Registry.

The National Clandestine Laboratory Register aims to inform the general public about places where drug labs once existed and were raided by law enforcement authorities, and that there still may be toxic chemicals present.

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Substance abuse can lead to a host of problems in a young person's life, from addiction to trouble with the law and even early pregnancy.

Education and providing youth with alternatives to drugs is key to the community's fight against drug use.

With this in mind, dozens of teens, children and adults were on hand at Ypao Beach Park Saturday for the National Red Ribbon Week Drug Free Carnival.

Two decades ago drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered Kiki Camarena, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, in 1985. The murder sparked what is now the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation -- the Red Ribbon Campaign, according to the U.S. DEA Web site.

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Anheuser-Busch has long spouted the slogan that "responsibility matters," and yesterday the company and its local distributor Ambros Inc. took steps to try to teach the island's youth about the pitfalls of drug abuse.

The beer company is sponsoring a three-day tour of local high schools by the Stay Alive From Education's Street Smart program. The program recounts the real-life drama experienced by firefighter-paramedics as they work to save the lives of youth who have made poor choices when it comes to underage drinking or using illegal drugs, according to a press release from the company.

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Resources To Fight Drug Problem Require Community Effort

In the 1970s, our tropical island community was caught in the grips of a heroin epidemic. There were burglaries, robberies and murders.

Our island currently faces a similar drug problem with crystal methamphetamine, otherwise known as "ice." This has been made clear in recent weeks with a number of arrests and convictions of individuals for crimes related to crystal methamphetamine.

ADVERTISEMENT And right now, the island is short of the resources necessary to fully and properly address the situation. From an enforcement standpoint, the Guam Police Department lacks an adequate number of officers both to investigate drug cases and overall. And the police lack one of the most important tools needed to properly handle drug cases, as well as any other investigations -- a modern crime lab. Any significant improvement over the sub-par forensics unit would be welcome.

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Regarding Brian Enriquez's Aug. 17 letter, the U.S. Supreme Court erred when it created a drug-war exemption to the Constitutional and ruled in favor of drug testing students in extracurricular activities. Student involvement in after-school activities like sports has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble.

Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation. Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only illegal drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent.

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Take a moment to think about our island's progress against substance abuse. With all the different agencies, drug-prevention programs and federal funding on island, it seems that our island's battle with substance abuse has not been affected in any way. I'm not saying these agencies and programs are useless, because they really are important resources. What I'm saying is that we need a more strategic prevention program that is effective.

We know that substance abuse may begin as early as 12 years of age based on statistics, yet what have we done about it? Well, I have the answer: "Absolutely nothing!" We are failing our youths! We know they're using (drugs) but why aren't we doing anything about it?

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"Alcohol Is The Anesthesia By Which We Endure The Operation Of Life."

George Bernard Shaw

Let us suppose that alcohol was illegal. The following would be the type of propaganda that would be expressed by those fronting the war on some drugs: "Alcohol is a toxin that causes dizziness, headache, vomiting and blackouts. It impairs speech, judgment, coordination, cognition and memory, and depresses respiration, which can lead to death after a single drinking session. Withdrawal symptoms include rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chills, fever, chest pain, nausea with recurrent vomiting, abdominal pain, hallucinations and seizures, sometimes resulting in death. Alcohol users suffer from peptic ulcers, liver failure, pancreatic cysts, high blood pressure, stroke, metabolic abnormalities, malnutrition, lung and urinary tract infections, brain damage and cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, liver, stomach, colon and breast. Alcohol use is also associated with depression, suicide, unemployment, divorce, domestic violence, assault, homicide and vehicular accidents."

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"On my way downstairs I had a smoke, and somebody spoke and I went into a dream."

Sir Paul McCartney, "A Day in the Life"

Cannabis is an illicit multibillion-dollar agricultural industry in the United States. The annual cannabis crop in California is worth about $4 billion, making it the state's most lucrative agricultural resource. Cannabis is a non-toxic, psychoactive plant that has never killed anyone, does not lead to the use of hard drugs, and has tremendous healing capacities.

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Although disappointed it has taken 10 months to distribute $600,000 to nonprofit agencies that provide drug-treatment programs, senators say they are working with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse to make sure those programs continue.

Yesterday, Sen. Mike Cruz, R-Piti, met with Mental Health officials and three nonprofit agencies that are currently providing residential drug treatment for youth, women and men. Last week, Mike Cruz said officials from Sanctuary Inc. for youth, the Oasis Empowerment Center for women and the Salvation Army's Lighthouse Recovery Center for men voiced frustrations about how slow Mental Health has been to implement Public Law 28-61.

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Vern Perez makes the common mistake of confusing drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime in his March 5 article. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits.

The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public-health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and prohibition have the potential to cause harm.

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Crime doesn't pay -- unless you are the Guam Police Department or Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency.

Yesterday, federal officials gave the police department $122,721.27 and Guam Customs $55,822.37 -- money that came from the sale of assets seized in drug-related cases. Officials from both local agencies said the money will be used for crime-fighting equipment and training for their personnel.

The money came from selling the watches, cars and homes that belonged to defendants who manufactured drugs on Guam or imported them here, said U.S. Attorney for Guam Leonard Rapadas.

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Burglaries occur every day in almost every neighborhood. Most dangerous are burglaries that occur when we are home. The drug problem on Guam spawns many of these crimes. The invasion of our homes depicts the ultimate threat to our families and our lives.

Residents can better protect their homes in many ways. One suggestion, of course, is to immediately fortify home entry points with improved locks and door and window jambs. Be sure to apply this technique to the sides of home that do not face the main road or entrance. Preventing easy entry will help thwart burglaries.

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Federal Court Sees Growing Number Of Cases

At least seven ice cases are scheduled to be heard in the U.S. District Court of Guam next month, starting off a year that the U.S. Attorney believes will see the number of ice-related cases grow significantly.

Since November, Guam Customs and Quarantine has seized more than $2 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride, the drug commonly known as ice, through the island's various ports of entry.

While there have been higher dollar amounts worth of ice seized in the past, the seizures customs are pulling now are significant as the street value of the drug on Guam has dropped from about $1,000 per gram in the 1990s to less than $500 per gram now, said Maj. Philip Taijeron Jr., assistant chief of the Guam Customs special enforcement division.

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The capture of the Korean man (Oh) carrying methamphetamine hydrochloride ("ice") and the amount confiscated is really bloodcurdling. What the island and its inhabitants should be concerned with are the recipients. Who ordered these drugs? Where is it being stored? And, are those responsible for the storage of this drug keeping a good eye on it?

What I think should be done is flush the "ice" down the toilet -- NOW - -- before it disappears and ends up where it was intended to go.

The media should keep an eye on this problem.

Fred Garcia

Whittier, Calif.

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Internet Can Help Spread The Word That Clean Really Is Cool

The anti-drug movement has long been on the Web, and parents can use a number of Web sites as key tools in getting ideas on how to educate their teens.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Internet's greatest advantage is its ability to reach large groups of youth on local and global levels.

Earlier this month, the Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media campaign launched a new advertising and online campaign aimed at teens.

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Guam's war on "ice" isn't just fought by the feds and the police.

There's a military component to the fight against the spread of crystal methamphetamine, which is the drug of choice for almost every addict on the island.

The Guam National Guard plays a supporting role in the drug war, and some of the local Guard members went through further training that ended yesterday.

Paul Stevens and David Korus of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension taught the "Meth Awareness" course.

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Guam's high-school and middle-school students showed just how "cool" they are through the essays they entered in the "Cool ... Just As I Am" contest.

The Pacific Daily News and its community partners, as part of the awareness effort against substance abuse among youths, held an essay contest for middle- and high-school students, and a poster contest for elementary-school students.

In the essays, participants explained why they don't need drugs in their lives to be "cool." The top three winners for each category were honored on Saturday's community outreach event at the Agana Shopping Center.

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