COLORADO LAWMAKERS JOIN DRUG WAR

DENVER- Colorado lawmakers are joining a national campaign to combat
teen-age drug use and the use of drug money to finance terrorism.

Rep. Kay Alexander, R-Montrose, will lead the campaign in Colorado.
Alexander said she will focus on more legislation like House Bill 1263,
which she sponsored last year. It requires group health plans to cover
substance abuse programs to help people get off drugs.

The national campaign is being run by the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration and the National Foundation of Women Legislators. The DEA
said there is a close link between illegal drugs and terrorism.

"Since Sept. 11, the war on drugs has developed into a war on
narco-terrorism. Drug trafficking has become a national security issue
because it is often drug money that finances terrorist operations," DEA
Director Asa Hutchinson said in a statement.

Hutchinson said the nationwide campaign, dubbed "Shoulder to Shoulder,"
will combine the DEA's knowledge about the links between drugs and terror
with a commitment by legislators to focus attention on the problem.

The second focus will be on the dangers of club drugs like ecstasy that are
becoming increasingly popular among teens and youth.

Robert Castillo, of the Denver Field Division, plans to announce the
program Thursday at the Justice Center in Grand Junction. Marcia Chambers,
whose daughter died from an illegal drug overdose on her 16th birthday,
also joined the campaign to talk about the tragedy and the importance of
fighting drugs including ecstasy.

Brittney Chambers went into a coma after taking the drug Jan. 27, 2001, and
died a few days later. A teen-age friend was sentenced to four years of
probation and 200 hours of community service for selling her the drug.

Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, and Rep. Joyce Lawrence, R-Pueblo, also
are participating in the campaign.