UPDATE: Maine Rules Against Low-Alcohol Drink

Updating the story earlier this week in the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition blog, the Maine Attorney General's Office has decided that Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade is a type of liquor and can't be sold to minors.

The ruling caps a week of controversy over the British "botanically brewed beverage," which was bought and brought to school by a Houlton, Maine, high school student before he realized there was a bit of alcohol in it. The Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Council and the Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse both took the case to the state's attorney general, saying that it shouldn't be sold to minors.

The company was nonplussed.

"We see it as slightly absurd," a company representative told the Bangor Daily News. She said that the lemonade is so low in alcohol that it would take 28 bottles to equal one pint of beer.

But the substance abuse prevention officials and the Houlton police were happy.

"We are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle and we do not want products being marketed to youth that might affect their health," said Houlton police chief Butch Asselin.

British Drink Stirs Controversy in U.S.

Is it alcohol or just lemonade?

A so-called "brewed lemonade" from the United Kingdom, Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade, is causing a controversy in northern Maine. A student at Houlton High School, near the Canadian border, brought a bottle of the lemonade to school. He had purchased it at a local store, only to read the bottle later and find out contained alcohol. The student brought it to the attention of school officials, according to the Bangor Daily News.

The Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and the Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse have petitioned the state's liquor control board to try to classify the drink as either alcohol or "imitation liquor." Either of those designations would keep it out of the hands of under 21 year olds.

"I think this should not be sold to youth," said Clare Desrosiers, project director for the Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. "To me, it is sold in what looks like a liquor bottle."

But Fentimans said that it's much ado about nothing, according to the Daily Mail, a British newspaper said. The alcohol level is 0.5 percent, which still qualifies it as a soft drink according to the manufacturer. The Daily Mail said that it's not uncommon to have common household products with at least a little alcohol in them, including orange juice, mouthwash and chewing gum.

States Thrown Into Chaos with Medical Marijuana Law

The New York Times reports that with the federal government's decision not to prosecute people for using medical marijuana, the states where it is legal are finding it difficult.

"The federal government says they're not going to control it, so the only other option we have is to control it ourselves," said one official in a community where marijuana dispensaries could be banned.

It's an issue in Colorado, California and New Hampshire, all battered by state budget cuts. It's also an issue in states like New York and New Jersey that may soon have their own medical marijuana laws.

Governor Awards Marshall County FRN with Safe and Drug-Free Communities Grant

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III has awarded the Marshall County Family Resource Network with a $25,520 Safe and Drug Free Communities Grant to provide substance abuse and violence prevention programs in Marshall County schools.

Manchin presented three staff members from the FRN -- executive director Stacie Dei, substance abuse prevention director Latrisha Whitelatch and Safe and Drug Free Communities coordinator Kimberli Green -- with the award at a ceremony in Charleston. The FRN's grant was among 19 projects from across the state to receive SDFC grants.

The Marshall County FRN's Safe and Drug Free Communities Grant is the Too Good for Drugs and Violence program. Too Good for Drugs has been implemented in Marshall County schools since 2007. It is in its third year at Cameron Elementary School, focusing on fifth and sixth graders. The program, which began in Cameron on Oct. 1 this year, includes a 30-minute lesson once a week for 10 weeks. The lesson plans incorporate five interwoven components such as goal setting, decision making, bonding with others, identifying and managing emotions and effective communications.

In January 2010, Central Elementary School fifth graders in Moundsville will go through the program for 10 weeks. Counselors at Cameron Elementary School and Central Elementary School will implement Too Good for Violence programs into their schools.

The goal of the Marshall County SDFC program, in collaboration with the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, is to reduce substance abuse among youth, and over time among adults, by promoting and delivering effective substance abuse prevention. The program is designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors while helping students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to making positive decisions to remain safe and drug free. The WV Division of Criminal Justice Services of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety adminsters the program from funds received from the U.S. Department of Education under the Safe and Drug Free Communities Act.

The Benwood-McMechen Housing Authority also received $13,530 for its violence prevention and social skill-building program to children from kindergarten through ninth grade.

Marking Red Ribbon Week

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition is marking Red Ribbon Week from Oct. 17-25. Red Ribbon Week is the oldest, largest drug-prevention awareness campaign in the country, and takes place the last full week in October annually.

Red Ribbon Week encourages individuals and communities across the United States to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug-free lives with the ultimate goal being the creation of a drug-free America.

According to the Red Ribbon Coalition, the Red Ribbon Celebration Pledge is: "No Use of Illegal Drugs, No Illegal Use of Legal Drugs." The Red Ribbon Celebration Pledge represents a no-nonsense, clear and consistent promise that students, parents, teachers and community leaders should be willing to make -- and more importantly -- expected to keep.

This year's Red Ribbon Celebration Theme is "Dream, Believe, Achieve, Succeed." The theme is meant to inspire young people. It also reminds adults that we must work every day to support the development of "protective factors" (skills and competencies) that every young person needs in his/her life in order to prevent alcohol, tobacco, other drug use and violence.

There are three categories of protective factors: Caring relationships, high expectations and meaningful participation. Each category should be experienced in the following four domains: At home, school, among peers and in the community. Research has shown that promoting the development of protective factors is an effective prevention strategy.

Red Ribbon Week began in honor of Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Enrique (Kiki) S. Camarena, a former Marine and veteran officer who was kidnapped, tortured and killed by the Mexican drug cartels in February 1985. He was undercover for four and a half years in Mexico, on the trail of Mexico's biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers. In early 1985, he was close to unlocking a multibillion-dollar drug pipeline. However, before he was able to expose the drug trafficking operations, he was kidnapped on Feb. 7, 1985. He was killed soon after and his body found March 5, 1985. He was 37 years old, an 11-year veteran of the DEA, married with three children.

Shortly after Camarena's death, then-U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California, and high school friend Henry Lozano launched Camarena Clubs in Camarena's hometown of Calexico, Calif. Hundreds of club members and teachers wore red ribbons and pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Kiki Camarena and others on behalf of all Americans.

Red Ribbon Week eventually gained momentum throughout California and the United States. In 1985, club members presented the "Camarena Club Proclamation" to first lady Nancy Reagan, which brought the club national attention. Later that summer, parent groups in California, Illinois and Virginia began promoting the wearing of Red Ribbons nationwide during late October. The campaign was then formalized in 1988 with President and Mrs. Reagan serving as honorary chairpersons. Today, the eight eights of Red Ribbon Week is sponsored by the National Family Partnership and has become the annual catalyst to show intolerance for drugs in our schools, workplaces and communities. Each year, during the last week in October, more than 80 million youth and adults show their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by wearing or displaying the Red Ribbon.