Red Ribbon Week begins

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Harris
  • 35th Fighter Wing public affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Oct. 23 to 31 marks Red Ribbon Week, a week dedicated to making a pledge to stay drug free.

Red Ribbon Week was first started in honor of Enrique Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent that was killed in 1985 while trying to break up a Mexican drug ring. The pledge to stay drug free does not only apply to the more known drugs like tobacco and marijuana, it also includes inhalants that can be found in the common household and the "choking game," where someone is choked to the point of unconsciousness.

This campaign is not only for school-age children.

"It is a nationally recognized program for everyone. It's for parents, high school, elementary, everyone," said Sherri Light from the Drug Demand and Reduction Center here at Misawa.

Red Ribbon Week helps make children, parents and leaders aware of the effects of drugs. A study by the National Institutes of Health suggests that the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. The use of drugs, especially at a young age, can have significant effects on the development of the brain.

"Parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing. Talk to the kids, and be involved," said Ms. Light.

There are many programs available for both treatment and prevention of drug use, including Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention & Treatment, Alcoholics Anonymous, The Drug Demand and Reduction Center, Chaplains and First Sergeants.

In honor of Red Ribbon Week there will also be a Haunted House of Prevention for children ages 6 to 13 held on Oct. 29 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Lunney Youth Center. It will display the horrific effects that drugs can have on your body.