red ribbon week

this seems to be a tongue twister, as each time i have tried to verbally say it it comes out differently and incorrectly. my slips of the tongue and inability to speak are beside the point, which is, this past week was red ribbon week.

i am not sure where red ribbon week is celebrated, but for those who dont know, red ribbon week is a week dedicated to drug prevention. while i am all for drug prevention, i am mixed in my feelings of red ribbon week.

as i learned, just this week in talking to one of the teachers, red ribbon week began as a memorial for an officer on the drug trafficing force. he was sent to work undercover in mexico where he was attacked and killed by a group of mexican drug trafficers. in his honor, friends organized drug prevention groups at local schools and red ribbon week was a product of the clubs activities. this story is not shared in the schools. would it be, it might make a bigger impact to understand the effects of certain choices we make. with this comment i am definitely not saying that all drug users are murderers or even that all drug users would act in a remotely similar way, rather i am saying that the use of drugs and their effect on that individual effect others lives in varied ways.

more important than drug prevention is drug awareness. it is important to know what is available and the effects it has on the body, mind, and life so that individuals can make decisions accordingly.

throughout grade school i was subject to the school system attempt at drug awareness and drug prevention. rather than learning this story and/or hearing stories and real life experiences, each year for red ribbon week, we we given a white paper “ribbon” with a red ribbon printed on it along with a drug free pledge. there was an adhesive strip along the top of this “ribbon” intended to stick to our clothing. each morning we would stick it to our shirt and each day take it off and leave it on our desk for the next day. we too had to recite this pledge. as it became evident that this small adhesive strip would not last the whole week we were to pin these ribbons upon our shirts with straight pins. in fifth grade and again in seventh grade, the DARE program was part of the curriculum. in this program, a drug enforcement officer came to speak to the class once a week for the duration of the unit probably about 6 - 8 weeks. he discussed different ways of saying no, made us act out scenarios that i now know are ridiculous and a large stretch of reality, shared the health issues associated with certain drugs, and implied that all drug users are scum rejects of society. this unit ended with a mandatory pledge of the students to stay drug free and certificate of completion and pledge. as i learned, this program was stopped, apparently it was not effective in drug prevention.

as i kid, i remember the leader of children/family services had a few notable lines he used each week. in one line he commented that each of us would know someone we used drugs, got pregnant in before marriage, etc. sitting there lost in my head i laughed at the thought knowing he was talking about everyone except me, there was no way i would face those realities. as it was, he was right. i watched best friends become strangers as they lost themselves in their drug use, i even loved and addict and tried to convince myself that she too could love me honestly. my college roommate freshman year, like me, chose not to use. when with a group of friends she passed her turn as the pipe came around. once in college, she tried marajuana and started use it more and more as she hung out with certain friends. she too i watched get lost in a drug abused reality, convinced this was her time to try anything and everything. i spent one night picking her up from a party and taking care of her back in our dorm; pulling her (twice my size and a fit athlete) back over the balcony as she tried to run out for one more shot, i had her sleep in my bedroom to not wake up the girl she shared a bedroom with. i watched a girl have a seizure in the hallway of my high school one morning, later to find it was an effect of her drug use. none of these people are by any means rejects of society, but rather valid, productive, and intelligent members of society with lots to offer but when using nothing becomes more important than their drug of choice. (i will use this space to leave a disclaimer that i am fully aware that not all who use a drug become addicts, reach rock bottom, etc. i know many people who do use recreationally and seem to be in control and not lost in a drug abused reality that doesnt change the truth of those who are)

next to my own experience of the effects of drug use and addiction on relationships, the most touching and effective efforts at drug use prevention was in hebrew high when we had a three week or so unit presented by beit tshuvah. beit tshuvah is a jewish affiliated drug rehab center. during a couple of the seminar meetings, recovering addicts came to talk to the class about their story. these stories were touching and real. such stories pulls ones empathy and leave room to relate, though it might not be my story or your story, it could easily be the story of someone we love.

it is much more important and necessary to teach with honesty, to reach out to the students and touch the empathetic fibers of their beings rather than use fear and empty promises to attempt to prevent drug use. not only do the majority of these programs and attempts at education present a false or exaggerated perception of reality, but they also create a mockery of promises and pledges. thinking of everyone i know who who has smoked a cigarette, taken a hit from a piece or a bong, consumed alcohol to the point of drunkedness went back on the promise they and i alike had to make year after year in grade school. it is important to talk about reasons to be drug free or goals or responsibilities to prioritize over drugs, but to ask a seven year old to pledge to be drug free is wrong. for one they dont fully understand what they are doing, secondly who at seven years old made a decision that has not changed since?

drug prevention is an admirable effort, but the execution needs to be rethought.