DRUG CZAR VISITS COUNTY

SAN DIEGO -- The nation's drug czar paid a visit to the 32nd Street
Naval Station Wednesday, discussing trends in the illicit narcotics
trade and recognizing U.S. Coast Guard personnel for their
drug-interdiction successes.

Between February and September of this year, the price of cocaine
increased roughly 19 percent, National Drug Control Policy Director
John Walters told the San Diego-based maritime personnel during a
morning briefing.

Over the same seven-month period, the purity of the seized contraband
was found to have dropped about 15 percent, Walters reported.

The changes were due, in part, to record recent seizures of cocaine
on the open seas, he said.

In recognition of such achievements, Walters and USCG Adm. Thomas
Collins presented an award to the crew of the cutter Hamilton, which
seized nearly 13 tons of the narcotic over a five-week period that
ended in early October.