Toyota developing anti-drunk driving gadget

There are already a number of states, including West Virginia, that require ignition locks on drivers who have been arrested for OUI. But Toyota Motor Co. said Monday that it was planning to put into some of its cars a handheld breathalizer that would keep the car's ignition off if it detected alcohol in the driver.

Few details were available but the system includes the breathalizer as well as a digital camera. The system starts with a warning but will shut down the ignition sequence if too much alcohol is detected.

A story by Agence-France Press reporting the news said that fellow automaker Nissan Motors is also developing a similar device.

Anti-Drug Coalition Wins Drug Free Communities Continuation Grant

MOUNDSVILLE – The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition has been awarded a Drug Free Communities Support Program continuation grant to help with its work of ending substance abuse among Marshall County youth.

The $125,000 grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is administered by the Marshall County Family Resource Network. Marshall County was first awarded the grant in September 2008.

The Drug Free Communities Support Program is designed to achieve two major goals:

1. Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, private nonprofit agencies, and federal, state and local governments to support the efforts of community coalitions like the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth.

2. Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse.

“The Drug-Free Communities Grant is essential to the work of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, and we thank the Office of National Drug Control Policy and SAMHSA for their continued faith in our efforts,” said Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director of the Marshall County Family Resource Network and acting chair of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition. “The money that this grant has provided has enabled us to counter the effects of drugs and alcohol on Marshall County youth.”

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition is one of only three Drug Free Communities Support Program continuation grantees in the State of West Virginia. The other two are the Randolph County Family Resource Center in Elkins and Community Connections Inc. of Bluefield.

The Drug Free Communities Act of 1997 provides a catalyst for increased citizen participation to reduce substance use among youth, providing community anti-drug coalitions like Marshall County’s with funds to carry out its missions. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration direct the program.

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition began in 2003 when a group of Marshall County citizens recognized the need to combat substance abuse and rallied together to take action. Comprised of representatives from local law enforcement agencies, businesses, schools, non-profit agencies and concerned citizens, the Anti-Drug Coalition collaborates with various sectors of the county to help keep the community safe and drug-free. Meetings are held at noon on the first Friday of every month in the Historic Federal Building, 324 7th St., Moundsville. All community members who are interested in helping to reduce substance abuse in Marshall County are welcomed.

For more information about the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, please visit marshallcountyantidrugcoalition.blogspot.com.

Tobacco Kills 6 Million a Year Worldwide

Tobacco kills six million people around the globe annually and costs the world economy up to $500 billion, a new report quoted by U.S. News & World Report said.

The study, by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation, was released as the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland. The study predicts that 2.1 million people will be killed by tobacco-related cancer by 2015; most of the deaths will be in poor countries because that's where the tobacco industry has begun to spend lots of money in marketing.

It's an "undeniable trend," the study said.

And it's the most preventable type of cancer through such policies as bans on advertising, taxes on tobacco, smoke-free public places and warnings on packages.

The American Cancer Society's news release is here.

FRN Holds Substance Abuse Prevention Workshop

More than 50 educators and law enforcement personnel attended a substance abuse prevention workshop sponsored by the Marshall County Family Resource Network at the John Marshall High School.

The workshop included presentations from Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director at the Marshall County Family Resource Network; Dara Pond, Adolescent Health Initiative coordinator for Region I; and Kimberli Green, coordinator of the Safe and Drug Free Communities program. The workshop concluded with a 90-minute presentation on Drug Endangered Children and Drug Identification from Andrea Darr of the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Institute in Charleston.

In attendance were 45 Marshall County teachers, counselors and nurses along with two representatives from the Benwood Housing Authority’s after-school program, three Glen Dale police officers and Marshall County prosecutor Jeff Cramer.

Whitelatch provided an overview of the FRN’s substance abuse prevention efforts, including the work to keep alcohol out of the hands of youth and the fact that the FRN and the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition has shown recent progress. The age of first use of substances is 12-13; last year, it was 10-11. Whitelatch also said that the FRN and the coalition was hearing from community members deep concern about the abuse of prescription drugs.

“It’s an issue that is on the rise in our county,” Whitelatch said.

In her presentation, Darr provided statistics about how drug abuse was hurting children, not just as abusers themselves but if their parents or caregivers are drug users. She said that neglected and abused children are 50% more likely to be arrested as juveniles.

“Is that good enough reason to spread the word about these (drug endangered) kids,” she asked. She said that community members can help by reporting to law enforcement officers if they suspect abuse or drugs.

“The second annual substance abuse prevention workshop and resource fair was a great success. We were very pleased with the number of school personnel and others who attended the event,” said Whitelatch. “We were thrilled to be able to bring Andrea Darr to the Northern Panhandle to share her knowledge and expertise regarding drug endangered children and drug identification.”

Shelly Behm, Safe and Drug Free Schools counselor/prevention specialist at Marshall County Schools, thanked the FRN for its workshop.

“I’m sure that it will be put to good use in practice this year and in years to come in recognizing and dealing with substance-related issues,” Behm said. “I was very happy to see so many teachers, nurses, and counselors take the time out of their busy end-of-summer schedules to attend this very worthwhile training.”

Community organizations and agencies set up information tables and made a brief presentation to the educators and community members.

“Many teachers appreciated not only the training itself, but the availability of information about a variety of resources in our community,” Behm said.

The organizations who set up tables included the Child Care Resource Center, the Court Appointed Special Advocates, Harmony House, YWCA, Grand Vue Park & Recreation Center, Appalachian Outreach, Marshall County Emergency Management, the Youth Club of Marshall County, the Marshall County Adult Learning Center, USDA Rural Development, the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, New Vision, the Adolescent Health Initiative, the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition and the Marshall County Family Resource Network.

Baby Boomers Haven't Kicked Drug Habit

Some members of the Woodstock generation haven't left the 1960s, at least in terms of their drug habits, the Associated Press writes.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said last week that the percentage of people age 50 years or older who are using illicit drugs doubled between 2002 and 2007. SAMHSA said that 9.4 percent of adults in 2007 50-59 said they were using illicit drugs compared to 5.1 percent in 2002. Drug use increases are because of the Baby Boom generation moving through the age bracket, officials said.

Another fact: About 90 percent of Baby Boomers started using drugs before age 30.

For the SAMHSA news release, see here. For the full report, see here.

ADHD Overdoses Among Teens Rising

Poison control centers say there's an alarming rise in the number of teen-agers who are overdosing on attention-deficit disorder medication, the Associated Press writes.

The calls about the ADHD drugs have jumped 76 percent over eight years, the American Association of Poison Control Centers said. There were four deaths listed in the study but around 40% of the rest were bad enough to require a hospital visit.

"It's bad news on an entrenched problem," said Steve Pasierb of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The study was released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Ohio Smoking Ban Under Criticism

A conservative policy group and a Toledo bar is suing Ohio for its enforcement on a smoking ban that it said goes too far.

The Associated Press writes that the lawsuit, filed by the Buckeye Institute and the Pour House of Toledo, is being heard by an Ohio appeals court. It follows the Ohio attorney general's increase of enforcement efforts against bars in Columbus and Cincinnati.

Since enforcement began more than two years ago, Ohio has levied 1,800 fines, sent 3,100 warning letters and received 44,000 individual complaints.

"It's a pretty straightforward responsibility that they have, which is, 'Do you see smoking activity or do you not,'" said one lawyer representing the state health department. "Under the law, the liability falls under the establishment."

West Virginia Sees Rise in DUIs among Females

WTOV 9 reports that the number of women involved in drunken driving accidents has gone up 30% in a year while at the same time DUIs involving men have fallen 7%.

West Virginia and Ohio are two of the states where that percentage has increased the most.

Former Heroin Addict Writes Gripping Memoir

Once a heroin addict who tried to kill himself with an overdose, Lowell, Mass., native Richie Farrell not only lived to tell about it but he's also written a book about his experiences. "What's Left of Us" is a biography about how the 52-year-old got hooked on drugs -- painkillers then heroin in 1984 -- and how he got clean.

"His story isn't phony," said Scott Silver, who wrote "8 Mile" and a new film, "The Fighter," which Farrell has a small part in. "Richie conveys the rawness of what he went through without romanticizing it."

Read more about it here.

Mothers Who Drink

A stand-up comedienne/blogger/mother who helped popularize the idea of the "cocktail mom" is causing waves across the Web with her declaration that she had quit drinking. Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, whose books include "Sippy Cups Are not for Chardonnay" and "Naptime Is the New Happy Hour," realized in May that drinking wasn't good for her any more.

On her blog, she said drank when one of her daughters was an infant to deal with stress. She calls herself "the cocktail playdate mom" who doesn't have anything against drinking in moderation but said for her, it became a "nightly compulsion."

"I'm more scared that my consumption of alcohol will consume my life and I can't afford that," she wrote in mid-May on her blog, Babyonbored. "I need to be present for my husband in the evening; I need to be fully reliable for all three of my children at all times and, for me, if I'm 100% honest with myself, I can't do that if I drink."

The New York Times picked up on it in an article called, "A Heroine of Cocktail Moms Sobers Up." The article, which has special resonance for New Yorkers after a 30-something mother of two killed herself, four children and three others in a head-on collision after police said she downed vodka and smoked marijuana behind the wheel of a car on an upstate New York highway.

Wilder-Taylor's resolution isn't a reaction to that horrific accident, which happened in late July. Wilder-Taylor began writing about her decision in mid-May. But The New York Times said the "outrage and bafflement over mothers who drink to excess" has boiled over with the Diane Schuler case. And Wilder-Taylor's blog has started a separate conversation over whether mothers can be everything they need to be if they are also drinking.

Wilder-Taylor takes the issue head on in several instances in her blog, including here and here. The entire blog can be read here.

Binge Drinking: Not Just a Youth Issue

Is binge drinking just a young person's problem?

You hear a lot about binge drinking among high school and college-age youth, and rightly so. It's a big problem. But a Duke University study finds that it's a problem among older people too.

Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks at one sitting. Duke University said that 22% of men and 9% of women between the ages of 50 to 64 reported binge drinking in the month before they were surveyed. Among ages 65 and older, it was 14% of men and 3% of women.

"We typically think of binge drinking as something that occurs with young people such as college students, and here we have examples of older closet drinkers," said Dan Blazer, a professor of psychiatry at Duke and the study lead author. "Because we don't expect older people to binge drink, this can be missed by a person's doctor because they are not asking."

Excessive alcohol use in older people can result in stroke, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, neurological damage and complications from diabetes.

Canadian Study: Teens Smoke Marijuana to Relieve Stress

A Canadian study has found that teen-agers use marijuana not to get high but to deal with stress, depression, grief or anxiety. The study was published in Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy, a Canadian online journal. University of British Columbia researchers interviewed 20 teens from Vancouver and rural communities in the province.

The teens told researchers that they didn't think their health problems were being adequately addressed.

"We really need to pay attention to adolescents who are experiencing concerns about their health, who are having difficulties, and we need to work with them to find alternatives," Joan L. Bottorff of the University of British Columbia told Reuters.

The full study is here.

How TV Families Would Handle Today's Challenges

I don't remember if Roseanne and Dan from ABC's 1990s sitcom "Roseanne" had to deal with their children and substance abuse. I'm sure that Ward and June Cleaver, from the 1950s classic "Leave it to Beaver," didn't.

But what would happen if they did?

Terri Schmidt, a columnist for the Chicago-area "Park Ridge Herald-Advocate" writes a column this week addressing that very issue.

Huntington-Area Adult Drug Court opens

A new adult drug court in Cabell County brings the number in West Virginia to nine, and is the sixth to open this year in the state. The Marshall County Drug Court, based in Moundsville, was one of the first when it opened several years ago.

What's a drug court? It's a volunteer program that can reduce or eliminate jail and prison sentences, if approved by a judge. The referrals to drug courts need to be approved by prosecutors, and the applicants need to have low or moderate risks to the community.

Stallworth Suspended for '09 Season

Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was suspended for the upcoming National Football League season for what the NFL said was violations of conduct and substance abuse regulations.

Stallworth received a 30-day jail sentence, house arrest and probation for the March 14 DUI manslaughter that killed a pedestrian.

Man Leaves Money for Substance Abuse Prevention

A former New Jersey man who had run afoul of the local police for underage drinking left $60,000 in his will to help the town fight alcohol and substance abuse.

Kevin M. Coughlin was 51 when he died in Florida in a 2007 diving accident. But he's being remembered in Chatham Borough, N.J., this week after the borough approved a $60,000 bequeath from Coughlin's will. Half will go to the police department and the other half to the borough for alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs.

Coughlin said the police department's tough love in dealing with him as a youth was "a big part of his becoming a recovered addict," Chatham Mayor V. Nelson Vaughn told the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

The police will spend the money on its D.A.R.E. program; part of the remainder will go to the Municipal Alliance, which the Star-Ledger said was a community group that works with youth to promote substance-free activities.

Blog Maps Drug Use Across Country

The Economix blog at nytimes.com is putting a new spin on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, released in May by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Nytimes.com economics editor Catherine Rampell put together several maps on illicit drug use that provide a graphic look on how West Virginia stacks up against the rest of the 50 states in the following categories:

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used illicit drugs in the past month

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used marijuana in the past year

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used illicit drugs other than marijuana in the last month

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used cocaine in the last year

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used alcohol in the last month

-- Percent of people age 12+ with binge alcohol use in the last month

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used tobacco in the last month

-- Percent of people age 12+ who used cigarettes in the past month

If you'd like to know more, there are a lot more maps on the SAMHSA's Web site for the Office of Applied Studies.

Jackson Case Sheds Light on Problem of M.D. Abuse

The Wall Street Journal reports that the sedative possibly implicated in the death of pop singer Michael Jackson is being considered for tighter regulation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Propofol, which is also called Diprivan and has been on the market for 20 years, hasn't been on the list of controlled substances. But the FDA has been looking at it for the past two years after a citizen petition; the decision is expected within a few months.

There are some complicating issues here. First is many anesthesiologists' belief that making propfol a controlled substance would limit its use in settings like colonoscopies, bone repair, and knee surgery. The user isn't groggy and the anesthesia leaves the system quickly. But there is a small but growing problem that some in the medical profession are hooked on it; there have been at least seven deaths in 10 years connected with propofol addiction and as many as several dozen in recent years.

Dei Quoted in Article about Proposed Sanford Center

Marshall County Family Resource Network executive director (and member of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition) was quoted extensively in an article in Monday's Wheeling News-Register about the proposed Sanford Center.

The Marshall County Board of Education could give the former Sanford School, which closed in June, to the City of Moundsville so that a community center could be located there. It's up for a vote in the City Council later this month. If it is approved, then a nonprofit board could be assembled to run the center.

"There is a lot of benefit to this. It could be used for so many things: Senior sewing lessons, after-school programs and many other activities," Dei told News-Register reporter Art Limann. "Right now there is no other place for people to go in this city for these types of activities."

She added: "This is a situation the city will not have again. I think you have to take a chance sometimes."

The whole article can be found here:

Teen Smoking to Lowest Level in Years

There's good news in the effort to keep underage youth from smoking.

For the third year in a row, there has been "substantial" progress toward reducing underage youth's access to tobacco. All 50 states are in compliance with tobacco laws and the rate of tobacco sales to minors nationwide is 9.9%, according to a report released Tuesday by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That's far below the 40.1% in 1997 or the 16.3% in 2002, SAMHSA said.

In West Virginia, the so-called Synar Retailer Violation Rate was 14.2%, below the national target rate of 20%. It was better than neighboring Ohio (whose retailer violation rate was 17%) but not as good as Pennsylvania (6.8%). The states with the best rates were Arkansas (4.2%), Montana (4.1%) and Wisconsin (4.5%). The highest rate was in Ohio.

The report can be found here. (PDF reader here.)

Usage rates are down as well. Only 9.8% of youth nationwide ages 12 to 17 reported using cigarettes within the past month compared to 13% in 2002.

"This report along with other published studies indicates that real progress is being made in preventing illegal tobacco sales to minors," SAMHSA acting administrator Eric Broderick said in a statement released by SAMHSA. "Continued state vigilance will build on our track record of success in protecting children from the public health menace of tobacco."

While advocates generally hailed the news, at least one was concerned that cuts to state spending on tobacco prevention and control could change the numbers.

"We need to continue this good work and can't let cuts to state programs undercut this process," Danny McGoldrick, vp of research for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told USA Today.

A Silent Epidemic?

The revelation that the woman who killed herself and seven other people driving the wrong way on a New York State highway was drunk and high has sparked criticism from the family -- who says it's not true -- and others who wonder how Diane Schuler could have hidden alcoholism from the rest of her family and friends.

The vodka bottle found at the crash scene jibes with what experts say is a common choice among alcoholics to drink vodka, believing that it's easier to hide. But The New York Times writes that all of the explanations are hard to swallow.

"That is part of what has made obsessives of so many people following the story: its refusal to reveal, at a minimum, some lesson that would let us walk away feeling safer for having learned it," The Times writes in an article Saturday.

Police: Wrong-Way Driver in Deadly Crash Was Drunk, High

Last week's story about 36-year-old Diane Schuler, who was driving the wrong way on an upstate New York highway and collided with another car, killing herself and seven others -- including her own child and three nieces -- took a saddening turn Tuesday.

Schuler was high on marijuana and drunk July 26 when she took the wheel of her 2003 Ford Windstar minivan on the northbound Taconic State Parkway slightly north of New York City. An autopsy report released Tuesday found that she had a blood alcohol content of 0.19, twice the legal limit in New York. Schuler died along with her 2-year-old daughter, Erin; nieces Emma Hance, 8, Alyson Hance, 7 and Kate Hance, 5; Guy Bastardi, his father Michael Bastardi and Daniel Longo, all three in the vehicle Schuler's minivan struck headon.

Schuler's 5-year-old son Bryan is the only survivor of the crash; he is recovering at a hospital.

"The report indicates that the driver was operating the vehicle while impaired by marijuana," said Westchester County district attorney Janet DiFiore in a statement released late Tuesday. "My office, along with the New York State Police, will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances that led up to the collision causing the deaths, so that the public and the families of the victims can understand what led to this horrific crash."

Critics: Alcohol, Caffeine a Potentially Lethal Combination

The federal government might be cracking down on caffeinated alcohol drinks like Joose, Four Loko and Liquid Charge, a combination of malt liquor, vodka and caffeine. States have already complained that the drinks -- which are popular among young adults -- are being heavily marketed to youth.

The Wall Street Journal reports that health groups worry that the stimulants in the drinks might "mask feelings of drunkenness, which could lead users to act recklessly, such as driving while intoxicated."

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have been "essentially inert" on the removal of the products.

Anti-Drug Coalition Meets Friday at 3 p.m.

MOUNDSVILLE -- The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition will meet at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Historic Federal Building, 324 7th St., Moundsville.

The meeting will follow the two-day Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol training, which will be held Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CEUs are available for the CMCA training for addiction and prevention professionals, CHES, counseling, nursing, social work and law enforcement.

For more information about the Anti-Drug Coalition meeting or the CMCA training, please contact the Latrisha Whitelatch at (304) 845-3300 or by email at marshallcountyspfsig@comcast.net.

Alcohol Ignition Interlock Systems May Be Required Nationwide

First-time drunken-driving offenders nationwide may soon have to prove their sobriety with a special ignition locking system before driving.

While ignition interlocks are required in 11 states and mandated for some in almost all states (including West Virginia), Congress could require them as a condition for those found guilty of drunken driving. It's believed that if installed, they would save between 4,000 and 8,000 lives a year. The issue will come up in Washington sometime this fall; it's getting strong support from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Governors Highway Safety Assn. and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The interlock systems are required for first-time offenders in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. There are no such laws for any offenders in Alabama, South Dakota or Vermont. The costs are paid by the driver.

Anti-Alcohol Advocates Upset by "Beer Summit"

President Barack Obama's "beer summit" between a Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Massachusetts police officer James Crowley in the White House Rose Garden is getting criticism from a different quarter: Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The Delaware chapter of MADD thinks that Obama, Gates and Crowley drinking beer isn't the best message to send to young people.

"It's a well-known fact that young people tend to mimic the actions of the adults," MADD Delaware Chapter President Nancy Raynor told a local radio station.

That statement has drawn the ire of the American Beverage Institute, which released a public statement that said MADD has become "very neo-prohibitionist."

"MADD is no longer an organization that opposes drunk driving, but an anti-alcohol group that has been hijacked by the modern day temperance movement," ABI managing director Sarah Longwell said. "That someone in a position of leadership at MADD would criticize President Obama for simply drinking beer, illustrates the neoprohibitionist mentality that now dominates the group."

Raynor told Politico.com, a leading political news site, that she's upset by the brouhaha over her comments.

"I am trying to do the right thing and this is what happens," she said.

For another view that won't make alcohol prevention professionals happy, see this story from Reason Magazine.

Teens Create Artistic Substance-Abuse Prevention Project

A Salt Lake City library art exhibit is all about substance abuse and how teens see the prevention effort artistically.

"What is Puzzling" is a mural that has been created by local youth.

"Some people get addicted to prescription pills when they're prescribed, so that's why they can't stop," one teen told KSL-TV in Salt Lake City in its report.

Arizona Lacking in Substance-Abuse Treatment

A state-sponsored audit finds that Arizona's public substance abuse treatment programs are behind the national average. One in three people who finish treatment programs remain off drugs a month later; it's four out of five in other Western states.

Illinois County Reeling from Prescription Drug Abuse Problem

Not that anyone in the substance abuse prevention field needs any more research, but the mainstream press continues to discover there's a big problem with prescription drug abuse.

There have been 18 prescription-drug overdose deaths in McHenry County, Ill., in 2009, 14 of them accidental.

"A lot of people who get addicted think that because it came from a doctor, it can't hurt (them)," one substance abuse services director told the Northwest Herald.

CADCA Mid-Year Training Held in Louisville

More than 1,300 anti-drug coalition leaders were in Louisville, Ky. last week as they attended CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Camp, where they networked with their peers, heard from experts in the substance abuse prevention field and learned new strategies to help them tackle their local drug abuse problems. Attendance at the 2009 Mid-Year was the largest of any Mid-Year to date.

CADCA's Mid-Year is an intensive four-day training designed specifically for community coalition professionals. This year’s Mid-Year, entitled “Major League Coalitions,” featured in-depth courses on everything from coalition fundamentals and evaluation to underage drinking policies and social marketing strategies.

The 2009 Mid-Year was unique not only because of the record number of attendees, but also because of the diverse range of participants. Participants came from all over the country and world, including nearly all 50 states, several U.S. territories, and 10 countries, providing a unique networking opportunity. Among the participants were large contingents from the U.S. Air Force and the National Guard, and more than 200 youth who took part in CADCA’s National Youth Leadership Initiative.