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Recent San
Diego and National Stories
on Substance Abuse
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Policy focused articles are posted every
weekday and remain on this site for one week. Links go
directly to the website where each article appears. The
websites of some linked
publications may require free
registration to view articles. Viewers
may
need to search a website's
archives for a story if the posted link has
expired.
Stories
older than one week can be found in the Newsroom Archive.
To
request an article you will need the article's ID#.
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Updated December 31, 2003
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"News laws / 2004 Parents allowing teen drinking
parties could go to jail"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 31, 2003)
-- A new California law allows parents to be jailed for
knowingly allowing their homes to be used for teenage
drinking that subsequently leads to a traffic
accident. Beginning on Thursday, AB 1301 will
permit parents or legal guardians to be incarcerated for
up to one year and fined up to $1,000. The bill is an
attempt to close what Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo
Alto, considers a loophole in existing state law. ID#
7549 (go
to article)
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"Tobacco Curbs Broadened in Pasadena"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 30, 2003)
-- Pasadena officials are pushing tougher tobacco
restrictions, including banning smoking in public parks,
in what they describe as an attempt to protect residents
from secondhand smoke and to prevent kids from becoming
smokers. New regulations in Pasadena, which is
among several cities nationwide pursuing similar rules,
will bar tobacco stores from opening within 1,000 feet
of schools, parks and other locations frequented by
children. In addition, any store that sells tobacco will
have to obtain a $135 yearly license, which could be
revoked if the store violated the license laws. ID#
7548 (go
to article)
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"DRUNKEN DRIVERS"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 29, 2003)
-- Here are states ranked by the percentage change in
alcohol-related fatality rate between 1998 and 2002,
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. The rate is calculated as deaths per 100
million vehicle miles traveled. ID# 7545 (go
to article)
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"Giving Holiday Imbibers a Break"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 27, 2003)
-- MEXICO CITY The first
man caught in the drunk-driving dragnet was a
32-year-old Spaniard who had been guiding his car down
this city's Avenida Reforma, apparently confident that
as long as he kept going straight, no one would stop
him. After being pulled over at a checkpoint
staffed by police, doctors and human rights monitors,
Juan Jose Martinez puckered up to a Breathalyzer
machine, put in place by a city program that is slowly
changing attitudes about drinking and
driving. ID# 7547 (go
to article)
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"Butte judge blazes trail in DUI cases"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 26, 2003)
-- Day after day, Judge
Darrell Stevens saw the same people coming into his
courtroom charged with the same offense -- driving under
the influence. "I'd put them on probation.
They'd violate and we'd go through the whole thing
again," said the Butte Superior Court judge.
"I thought, this is insane. Something has to be
done." ID# 7544 (go
to article)
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"Making city safer, one DUI arrest at a time"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 26, 2003)
-- Drinking and driving don't
mix especially on Officer Tom Broxtermann's
beat. In his 18 years with the San Diego Police
Department, Broxtermann has arrested more than 2,400
suspected drunken drivers, by far the most of any
officer on the force, officials say. ID#
7543 (go
to article)
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"17 States See Rise in Alcohol-Related Traffic
Deaths"
(Join Together Online, Dec 23, 2003)
-- A state-by-state report from the U.S.
Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) finds that alcohol-related
traffic deaths decreased in 32 states during the last
five years, but increased in 17 others, according to a
Dec. 18 press release. The report looks at traffic
deaths linked to alcohol from 1982 to 2002. It also
includes alcohol-related traffic fatalities on the
county level for 2002. ID# 7546 (go
to article)
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"Stopping drunken drivers"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 23, 2003)
-- Re "A mother's question for drunk drivers 'When
will they ever learn?' " Dec. 7 Diana Griego
Erwin's column on California's drunken driving campaign
correctly identified hard-core drunken drivers and
repeat offenders as the source of today's drunken
driving problem but mistakenly identified roadblocks as
the solution. ID# 7542 (go
to article)
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"Alcohol too easy for teens to obtain"
(Asia Journal, Dec 12, 2003)
-- I recently proposed, and the City Council passed, an
ordinance aimed at holding adults responsible for
underage drinking parties on private property. The
ordinance will make it a criminal offense for adults to
knowingly serve alcohol to minors. ID# 7539 To
obtain a copy of this article click
here.
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"Student researches E. Village needs"
(Downtown News, Dec 4, 2003) -- Students
may say that some of what they learn in school will
never be used in the real world. Craig Castaneda knows
better, because his research project is a key component
to the redevelopment of East Village. Castaneda, a
business administration major at California State
University, San Marcos, is in the midst of a
semesterlong Senior Experience project, a requirement
for his degree. As its subject, Castaneda chose to
investigate East Village's residential, business and
commercial needs. The project includes more than I00
interviews and surveys with government officials,
industry experts, small business owners and residents.
ID# 7541 To
obtain a copy of this article click
here.
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"Border smuggling, drug arrests decline"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 23, 2003) --
California border inspectors detected fewer drugs and
immigrants this year than in 2002, repeating a downward
trend that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. Cocaine seizures at the six ports of entries in
San Diego and Imperial Counties plummeted from 17,031 in
2002 to 12,470 pounds in 2003. Pot busts dwindled from
298,161 pounds to 286,847 pounds. ID# 7536 (go
to article)
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"Buffer vs. puffers to grow"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 22, 2003) --
LAURA EMBRY / Union-TribuneAlla Itelson, 22, of La Mesa,
a senior at San Diego State University, smoked outside
the campus library. Effective Jan. 1, the state's
no-smoking zone around public buildings expands from 5
feet to 20 feet. Alla Itelson said she tries to be a
considerate smoker. But she said a new law that will
require her to take a puff farther away from doors and
windows of most government buildings is going too far. ID#
7537 (go
to article)
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"Wine producers, wholesalers fight over online wine"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 23, 2003) --
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - California vintners are hoping
mail-order and online sales will deliver new profits
this season, with more states than ever allowing
consumers to have wine shipped to them direct from the
producer. "There'll be lots of wine in people's
stockings, I hope," said Tom Shelton, president of
Joseph Phelps Vineyards in St. Helena. "I think
we've made extraordinary progress this year."
ID# 7538 (go
to article)
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"Galardi club liquor license is taken away"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 21, 2003) --
LAS VEGAS Clark County officials have pulled the
liquor license from a second striptease club formerly
owned by a man who has pleaded guilty to federal
corruption charges. The Dec. 17 decision to deny
new owner Jack Galardi's request to serve liquor at the
Leopard Lounge had little immediate effect because the
club has been closed for remodeling since Galardi bought
it Nov. 13 from his son, Michael. ID# 7531 (go
to article)
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"Mexico City confronts first holiday season with
Breathalyzer"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 21, 2003) --
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Police are coming down hard on
drunken drivers in Mexico City this holiday season, but
not on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The two
exempted days may seem like good news for the
over-indulgent, but they add a fresh layer to the
controversy that has surrounded the use of checkpoints
and breath tests since they were introduced in the
capital in September. ID# 7532 (go
to article)
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"Diana Griego Erwin When the driver really isn't
drunk, Roseville officers are delighted"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 21, 2003) -- They
stride purposefully toward their cars, waists heavy with
the tools of the trade hanging from thick leather belts
like modern-day gunslingers. They are Roseville's
finest, but tonight, a weekend night, they all are
members of a holiday "Saturation Patrol"
looking for intoxicated drivers. There's the usual
banter over who will nab an impaired motorist first.
Really, though, they'd be just as happy to find the
streets quiet tonight as a relentless mist falls over
the city. ID# 7533 (go
to article)
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"Mind Your 'Cheer'"
(Washington Post, Dec 21, 2003) -- Tis the
season to be jolly. But precisely how jolly?
Having spent decades on a university campus (no, it
didn't take me that long to graduate; I was on the
faculty), I have heard quite a bit about what the
students call "partying hearty" or "hard
partying." ID# 7535 (go
to article)
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"Lake Elsinore checkpoint nets 12 arrests"
(North County Times, Dec 20, 2003) -- More
than 400 vehicles passed through the checkpoint at
Mission Trail and Malaga Road between 830 p.m. Friday
and 145 a.m. Saturday, McKinney said Saturday. ID#
7529 (go
to article)
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"Fight over alcohol stops 7-Eleven"
(North County Times, Dec 20, 2003) -- Local
residents, including Murrieta Valley Unified School
District board member Kris Thomasian, and the city
protested the convenience store chain's application to
sell alcohol at that location, which is across the
street from a residential neighborhood and Glen Arbor
Park. ID# 7528 (go
to article)
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"Teen drug use falls, government survey shows"
(Reuters Health, Dec 19, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - An annual survey by the U.S. government
showed a marked decline in the number of American
teen-agers using illegal drugs, officials said on
Friday. Drug use fell by 11 percent among students
between the ages of 13 and 18 over the past two years,
according to the survey. ID# 7530 (go
to article)
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"Youth Drug Use Declines, But Alcohol, Future
Trends are Concerns"
(Join Together Online, Dec 19, 2003) -- The
federal government's $180 million youth anti-drug media
campaign may be paying dividends in terms of reduced
youth marijuana use, according to data released today
from the 2003 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey.
Tobacco, Ecstasy and LSD use also showed substantial
declines. But the report's lead researcher says that
while there is plenty of good news this year, the survey
has some troubling warning signs about future drug-use
trends. ID# 7534 (go
to article)
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"Medical marijuana decision doesn't sanction pot
sales to the sick"
(North County Times, Dec 19, 2003)
-- That issue, the next
legal battle in the medical marijuana movement, still is
pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A
three-judge panel of the same court ruled Tuesday that a
congressional act outlawing marijuana can not apply in
states with laws permitting sick people to use marijuana
with a doctor's recommendation. ID# 7510 (go
to article)
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"Holiday drunken-driving crackdown begins"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- The
California Highway Patrol and local police kicked off an
annual holiday crackdown on drunken driving this week
with a "coptail" party featuring nonalcoholic
drinks at a pub. Fourteen law enforcement agencies
in San Diego County will target drunken drivers with
beefed-up patrols and sobriety checkpoints beyond New
Year's Day. ID# 7511 (go
to article)
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"2 liquor licenses are suspended"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- NORTH
AURORA -- The liquor licenses of two gas stations were
suspended for two weeks after clerks at each allegedly
sold alcohol to minors during police stings last month,
Village President Mark Ruby said. Ruby handed down
the suspensions this week in his role as the village's
liquor commissioner. The suspensions against Thornton
Oil, 418 S. Illinois Highway 31, and Speedway, 15 N.
Randall Rd. started Thursday and will be effective until
Jan. 1. ID# 7512 (go
to article)
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"Elgin seeks to ban items in teen clubs"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- Pacifiers,
glow sticks and similar accessories favored by
electronic music fans are drug paraphernalia, said Elgin
officials, who are taking the first step toward an
unusual law that would ban such items from nightclubs
catering to the under-21 crowd. On Wednesday, the
Elgin City Council backed an ordinance for underage
events at nightclubs such as The Mission, a downtown
club that most nights draws an adult crowd. The
regulations, which would be required of any
establishment intending to hold an event for people
younger than 21, would ban several club toys. ID#
7514 (go
to article)
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"11 face charges in running North Side drug market"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- Eleven
people were charged Thursday following a crackdown on a
North Side drug market that sold heroin and cocaine
within several hundred feet of two schools, authorities
said. Those charged either supplied or sold drugs
near Wilson Avenue and Sheridan Road, oftentimes while
children were in sight, Chicago police said. Officers
confiscated $139,000 in heroin and cocaine, $16,443 in
cash, a car and a handgun during the seven-month
investigation. ID# 7517 (go
to article)
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"Air Force Academy won't expel cadet for taking
drink, officials say"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 18, 2003) -- AIR
FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) - An Air Force Academy cadet
who turned herself in after taking a sip of whiskey
won't be expelled, as had been threatened, officials
said. Academy commanders had demanded that
Christina Fifer, a sophomore, reveal the name of a
senior female cadet who gave her the alcohol in
September, or face expulsion. Fifer, 19, turned herself
in three weeks after the incident - following the
school's honor code, which says cadets cannot lie, cheat
or steal or tolerate others who do. She refused to
identify the other cadet. ID# 7503 (go
to article)
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"Selling smokes to teens tackled"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 18, 2003) -- Two
16-year-old girls found out this year how easy it is to
do something they shouldn't buy cigarettes.
Brittany Shugart, a Granite Bay High School student,
went to 11 stores in Natomas and purchased cigarettes
from four of them. Cami Stagg, a student at Folsom
High School, went to 12 stores in downtown Sacramento,
and six sold her cigarettes. The number of
cigarettes sold should have been zero under a law that
says no one younger than 18 should be allowed to
purchase cigarettes. ID# 7504 (go
to article)
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"Attorneys general from 3 states urge filmmakers to
cut onscreen smoking"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 17, 2003) -- BALTIMORE
(AP) - Attorneys general met with Hollywood executives
Wednesday to encourage them to reduce the amount of
smoking in films, which they say can encourage young
people to smoke. The attorneys general from
Connecticut, Utah and Vermont met in Los Angeles with
directors and production executives from the seven major
studios. ID# 7505 (go
to article)
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"Diageo to Put Nutrition Labels on Liquor"
(New York Times, Dec 18, 2003) -- Diageo,
the British liquor company whose brands include Johnnie
Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff, said yesterday that it
would put nutrition labels on its products to detail how
much alcohol and how many calories and carbohydrates are
in each bottle. Executives at Diageo North America
said the labels, which will be introduced next year,
would also list serving sizes and the amount of other
macronutrients, like sugar and fat. ID# 7506 To
obtain a copy of this article click
here.
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"65 Percent of Teens Get Alcohol From Family,
Friends, According to The Century Council"
(Yahoo News, Dec 18, 2003) -- The
Century Council wants parents across the country to make
a New Year's Resolution to keep their teens safe and
alcohol-free in 2004. The Council is providing tips to
parents in an effort to prevent underage drinking and to
highlight the strong influence that parents wield in
their teens decisions to say no to alcohol. Last year,
2,902 youths under the age of 21 died in alcohol-related
traffic fatalities, accounting for nearly 17 percent of
all alcohol- related traffic fatalities on our nation's
roads during 2002. These numbers do not include the
countless injuries, and liquor- law violations related
to underage consumption of alcohol. All of these tragic
deaths, injuries, and violations are avoidable. ID#
7507 (go
to article)
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"Data Show Little Change in DUI Rates"
(Yahoo News, Dec 18, 2003) -- The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (news
- web sites)'s report, which was being released
Thursday, calculated the fatality rate per 100 million
miles driven. NHTSA considers a crash alcohol-related if
a driver had anything above a 0.01 blood-alcohol level,
which is far lower than the 0.08 legal limit in 45
states. South Carolina saw the greatest increase
in its death rate during the four-year period, followed
by Kansas, South Dakota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. The
states with the highest numbers of alcohol-related
deaths per miles traveled were Montana, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Nevada and Louisiana. ID# 7508 (go
to article)
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"Board Bans Hiring Smoking Deputies"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 18, 2003) -- Hoping
to stem escalating insurance costs, Riverside County has
banned the hiring of sheriff's deputies who smoke and
may expand the prohibition to all hires in county
government. Riverside County is the latest in a
growing number of municipalities across the nation to
hire only nonsmokers, arguing that they are less likely
to get cancer, heart disease and other ailments linked
to tobacco. ID# 7509 (go
to article)
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"Federal appeals court OKs medical marijuana in
some cases"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 17, 2003) -- SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday
that a congressional act outlawing marijuana may not
apply to sick people with a doctor's recommendation in
states that have approved medical marijuana laws.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that
prosecuting these medical marijuana users under a 1970
federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn't
sold, transported across state lines or used for
non-medicinal purposes. ID# 7499 (go
to article)
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"Retailers Selling Fewer Cigarettes to Minors"
(Join Together Online, Dec 17, 2003) --
A new survey finds that most retailers nationwide are
complying with efforts aimed at reducing tobacco sales
to children under age 18, according to a Dec. 10 press
release from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the
report released by SAMHSA, the national retailer
violation rate declined to 14.1 percent in 2002 from
16.3 percent in 2001. In 1996, the violation rate was as
high as 40.1 percent. ID# 7500 (go
to article)
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"Survey Finds Program Reduces Alcohol, Tobacco,
Marijuana Use among 7th and 8th Graders"
(Join Together Online, Dec 17, 2003) --
Thirty percent of middle school kids have tried alcohol,
tobacco or drugs. But many middle schools often have a
mix of children from different ethnic groups. Should
these schools have to use drug prevention programs that
are targeted to each individual group? According
to a study published in the December issue of Prevention
Science, middle schools with a mix of Euro- American,
Mexican-American and African-American children can use
one multicultural curriculum (keepin' it REAL) to help
prevent and delay first-time use of alcohol, tobacco and
drugs. Keepin' it REAL, developed by Penn State
University and Arizona State University, teaches kids
skills to "refuse, explain, avoid and leave,"
drug use in a way that reflects their traditions,
culture and values. ID# 7501 (go
to article)
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"Boston Bar Workers Praise Smoking Ban"
(Join Together Online, Dec 16, 2003) --
A study presented at the National Conference on Tobacco
or Health finds that bar workers in Boston, Mass., are
breathing much easier thanks to the city's
workplace-smoking ban, enacted in May, the Boston Herald
reported Dec. 10. "I can definitely notice the
difference since the smoking ban," said Bekah
Arndt, 27, manager of the Milky Way bar in Jamaica Plain
and a dance student. "I don't get winded as easily.
I didn't know how much the smoke bothered me until I had
been out of it for a while." ID# 7502 (go
to article)
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"Barona's push for liquor license is boosted by
sheriff's reversal"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 16, 2003) -- BARONA
INDIAN RESERVATION It took 15 months and a reversed
opinion from the Sheriff's Department, but the Barona
Indian band has cleared the first hurdle for a state
license to sell liquor in certain areas of its casino,
hotel and golf course. Steven Ernst, who heads the
state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's San
Diego office, said he would pass Barona's application to
his superiors today with a recommendation of approval.
An administrative hearing probably will be scheduled
within three months, he said. ID# 7494 (go
to article)
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"Group wants no smoking at beaches"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 16, 2003) -- COSTA
MESA A Costa Mesa group wants coastal cities like
Newport Beach to ban smoking on beaches to crack down on
cigarette butts littering the sands. Earth
Resource Foundation wants cities to create laws against
smoking at the beach. Its main concern is litter, but
foundation officials are also concerned about the
effects of second-hand smoke. While Newport Beach
officials laud the efforts, they say it will be
extremely difficult to enforce. ID# 7495 (go
to article)
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"'Alcohol Facts' Label Proposed for Beer, Wine, and
Liquor"
(Yahoo News, Dec 16, 2003) -- WASHINGTON,
Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- A proposal for a uniform
"Alcohol Facts" label was submitted today by
the National Consumers League (NCL), the Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and others in a
petition to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau. The petition urges the agency to require a new
label for alcoholic beverages that would give consumers
clear information about alcohol content, serving sizes,
calories, and ingredients. The groups argue that
"Alcohol Facts" labels will do for alcoholic
beverages what Nutrition Facts labels have done for
packaged food provide readable information that would
empower consumers to make informed decisions about the
products they consume. ID# 7496 (go
to article)
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"NMSU says no to alcohol"
(El Paso Times, Dec 13, 2003) --LAS
CRUCES -- No alcohol sales will be allowed at New Mexico
State University's Corbett Center. NMSU's Board of
Regents on Friday narrowly voted to turn down the
proposal despite efforts by proponents, who said it was
the next logical step, given the ongoing sales at other
campus locations. "We shouldn't put the
alcohol here in front of the students," Regent
Robert Gallagher said. "Parents who will be sending
their kids to this university won't expect that, and we
shouldn't do it." ID# 7497 (go
to article)
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"Checkpoint a sobering experience"
(North County Times, Dec 13, 2003)
-- Using
stationary sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols, the
goal of those officers is to get as many impaired
drivers off the road as possible. The first
checkpoint of the season was conducted by Temecula
police along busy Pechanga Parkway. From 7 p.m. Friday
to 2 a.m. Saturday, officers arrested six suspected
intoxicated drivers, said Sgt. Mike Pino, who heads the
department's traffic division. ID# 7487 (go
to article)
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"Proud of Solana Beach's cigarette beach ban"
(North County Times, Dec 13, 2003) -- I
live in Solana Beach, and I applaud the City Council for
making Solana Beach the first city in California to
outlaw smoking on the beach. I feel
well-represented here, and I know many neighbors who
also support this ban. It doesn't surprise me that
Solana Beach is first in this regard. ID# 7488 (go
to article)
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"Mexico City gives drivers a break from
Breathalyzers on Christmas eve and New Year's Eve"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 12, 2003) -- MEXICO
CITY Police plan to give Mexico City drivers a break
from alcohol breath tests on two of the most celebrated
days of the holiday season, the Mexico City police
department announced Friday. Mexico City started
breath testing drivers for intoxication for the first
time in September, in part of a get-tough campaign
toward drunken driving across Mexico. ID# 7489 (go
to article)
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"Smoking dangers"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 13, 2003) -- Steve
Riedl, executive director of the Illinois Licensed
Beverage Association, says he hasn't seen any hard
documentation showing secondhand hand smoke is deadly
("Smoking's effects," Voice of the people,
Nov. 29). He need not look further than the Web site of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead
federal agency for protecting the health and safety of
Americans, which reports that 38,000 die annually from
heart disease, respiratory disease and lung cancer
caused by exposure to secondhand smoke in workplaces and
public places. ID# 7490 (go
to article)
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"Study Youth Still Exposed to Tobacco Ads Despite
Restrictions" (Join Together Online, Dec
12, 2003) -- New
research from the American Legacy Foundation shows that
children and teens are routinely exposed to tobacco
advertisements and promotion despite the restrictions
included in the 1998 tobacco settlement with U.S.
states, according to a Dec. 11 press release from the
American Legacy Foundation.Under the settlement
agreement, tobacco companies pledged not to "take
any action, directly or indirectly, to target youth in
the advertising, promotion, or marketing of tobacco
products." ID# 7491 (go
to article)
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"Publishing names may not be a deterrent" (Los
Angeles Times, Dec 14, 2003) -- I
kind of felt like taking a day off my column and sure
enough our readers came through. You see, when I
asked for opinions about the weekly list of names we
publish of those arrested on suspicion of drunken
driving, well, let's just say there was no shortage of
opinions. So, instead of me blathering on more
about the topic, I'm going to step back and let the
readers do most of the talking. ID# 7492 (go
to article)
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"Thanks to Cable, Liquor Ads Find a TV Audience"
(New York Times, Dec 15, 2003) -- Amost
two years ago, an experiment to allow American liquor
marketers access to the biggest, most powerful
advertising medium of all - national broadcast network
television - ended in acrimony. Since then, those
advertisers have pieced together an alternative, virtual
TV network, enabling them to expose consumers to more
pitches for vodka, gin and whiskey than ever
before. ID# 7493 To
obtain a copy of this article click
here.
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"Protecting them from themselves"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 12, 2003) -- The
Laguna Beach Unified School District and the Police
Department have held a meeting with parents to forge a
team to make sure that teenage partying is legal and not
fatal. The consequences of how the kids party, with
whom, what and where were laid out for the
parents. "Kids will party," said Capt.
Danell Adams of the Laguna Beach Police Department.
"We have to recognize that. But someone has to be
responsible. ID# 7485 (go
to article)
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"City Considers
Tobacco Sales Licenses"
(Yahoo News, Dec 11, 2003) -- A
public meeting was held in Sacramento Wednesday night to
discuss the idea of a tobacco sales license aimed at
curbing the sale of tobacco to minors. The license would
cost $350. Anti-smoking groups say it's the only way to
deal with the growing number of teen smokers, but store
owners say they'll be hurt. ID# 7486 (go
to article)
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"Brown Jug aims to
turn ID busts into life lessons"
(Anchorage Daily News, Dec 8, 2003) -- One
evening last fall, a man tried to buy wine coolers,
vodka and Mike's Hard Lemonade for a couple of
15-year-old girls. The head of security at Brown Jug
made a citizen's arrest, handcuffing the buyer. Police
came. The man was busted, and so were the girls. That
may seem a fitting end to the store's role. But Brown
Jug, one of the state's biggest liquor retailers, has a
reputation for being extra aggressive in preventing
sales to kids as well as adults who buy for them. ID#
7484 (go
to article)
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"El Cajon adopts overkill against johns and junkies"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 11, 2003) -- Under
a new ordinance that will take effect Jan. 1, men
arrested for soliciting prostitution from their cars in
El Cajon can have their vehicles permanently seized by
the city. This gross judicial overreach is intended to
counter the growing problem of prostitution in El Cajon,
but it is likely to create more problems than it
solves. The measure provides that vehicle owners
may request an administrative hearing and object to the
confiscation. But getting their cars back is probably
going to mean paying what the city deems to be their
fair-market value. Otherwise, the vehicles will be sold,
with the proceeds going to the City Attorney's Office or
to law enforcement agents to cover the costs of this
Draconian program. ID# 7478 (go
to article)
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"Hispanics target of drunk-driving project"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 11, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
For the first time, the government is launching a
drunken driving campaign targeting Hispanics, who are at
higher risk of death in alcohol-related accidents.
Alcohol-related crashes account for half of all traffic
deaths of Hispanics, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration. In the general
population, alcohol-related crashes accounted for 41
percent of traffic deaths in 2002. ID#
7479 (go
to article)
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"Wal-Mart now closer to liquor license"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 11, 2003) -- Wal-Mart
is a step closer to obtaining a beer and liquor license
for its new store in Country Club Centre. The
Arden Arcade Community Planning Advisory Council voted
7-2 on Dec. 4 to recommend that Wal-Mart be granted the
license, with the condition that alcohol be sold in its
original packaging. Mariam Montesinos, a lawyer
representing Wal-Mart, said at the meeting that Wal-Mart
would not sell beer but only wine and wine coolers,
which would be sold on five shelves near register
clerks. ID# 7480 (go
to article)
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"Infineon Raceway to hold annual Holiday Sobriety
Challenge"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 10, 2003) -- SONOMA--
Northern California mayors and police chiefs will be
drinking and driving at Infineon Raceway, all with the
blessing and endorsement of the California Highway
Patrol. The facility will host the 7th annual
"Holiday Sobriety Challenge" on Friday, Dec.
19, from11 a.m.-2 p.m.The event features a controlled
wine and beer tasting experiment that graphically
illustrates how alcohol consumption affects driving
performance, even at levels well below the legal limit
(.08-percent). ID# 7481 (go
to article)
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"DUI listings not a real deterrent"
(Los Angeles Times, Dec 11, 2003) --
Weighing in on the DUI issue again, I take readers back
to December 2001 when the Daily Pilot published the two
letters of mine that follow. Under the headline of
"Why print DUI arrests, but no other
offenses?" I wrote the following "Would
the Daily Pilot please offer some thoughtful explanation
that would justify the practice of systematically
publishing the names of persons arrested for driving
under the influence, and little or no exposure to those
arrested for other offenses. "Your almanac
section of the paper tells us only that they are
innocent until proven guilty, but we already knew that.
I would hope that your reasons don't include some
third-grade psychobabble that the public exposure could
motivate them to curtail their alcohol abuse. It may or
may not. ID# 7483 (go
to article)
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"Ecstasy Outdated as Young Britons Find New Dance
Drugs"
(Join Together Online, Dec 10, 2003) --
New statistics from Britain's Home Office finds that the
popularity of ecstasy as a dance drug is waning as
teenagers turn to legal prescription drugs, the Guardian
reported Dec. 5. According to the British Crime Survey,
ecstasy use among 16- to 24-year-olds in England and
Wales dropped 21 percent last year. Use of amphetamines,
also popular among young people attending all-night
parties and dance events, also is on the decline. ID#
7482 (go
to article)
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"Smoking cannabis causes damage to lungs"
(Reuters Health, Dec 10, 2003) -- LONDON
(Reuters) - Smoking cannabis is not the harmless
recreational activity it may seem to some--because it
can cause lung damage, researchers said on Friday.
Regularly smoking three or four joints a week, even for
less than six years, can impair lung function and rob
the body of antioxidants that protect cells against
damage, which can lead to heart disease and
cancer. "Smoking cannabis on a regular basis
actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant
substances...and this may have chronic long-term
implications for young individuals," said Dr. Sarah
Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central
England. ID# 7477 (go
to article)
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