By Dana Littlefield

Published October 22, 2010

MISSION VALLEY — A local anti-drug organization presented District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis with a lifetime achievement award Friday for her efforts in drug prevention.

Dumanis was among a group of honorees at the annual Red Ribbon Luncheon, hosted by the San Diego Prevention Coalition, in Mission Valley. This is the seventh year the nonprofit organization has hosted the event.

The luncheon was held in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, a national drug abuse prevention campaign that began after Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was kidnapped and beaten to death by Mexican drug traffickers in 1985.

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By Ali Wolf

Published October 20, 2010

Prescription drug abuse in San Diego has become an epidemic that has been sending shockwaves throughout the county. After the alarming increase within the past couple of years, San Diego’s prominent leaders, healthcare officials and community members have banded together to combat this dangerous trend from perpetuating itself.

Over the years, more and more young people in San Diego have turned to prescription drugs for recreational use, most commonly Oxycontin. But what is this drug and why are we seeing such a sharp increase in the amount of young people who are abusing the medication?

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