TEENS TALK ABOUT DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAMS

Through the nationally recognized Red Ribbon Week program, our local
schools recently concluded the weeklong anti-drug message. They do
this in a variety of ways. At some schools, students are rewarded
daily with red licorice if they wear red clothing or a ribbon to
school. They have assemblies with special speakers, tie ribbons on
their fencing and sign contracts promising not to do drugs.

Since its launch in 1988 the program has had its share of critics
saying the methods have been proven ineffective and costly to
taxpayers. Regardless, it's a way to teach our young people the
perils of drugs and alcohol, so no amount of research saying it's
useless is going to prompt a politician or education leader to speak
out against it.

So we asked our local youth to tell us how they felt about the program.

Here's what our local youth had to say:

Red Ribbon Week has really no effect on me and my friends opinions on
drugs. They don't teach us the effects that drugs can have on our own
bodies. They just tell us to wear a ribbon for a week, get candy and
make posters.

- -- Frankie Lopez, 8th grader, Riverview Middle School

At 16 when I was asked to do pot for the first time, the contract I
signed in middle school never entered my mind. I don't advocate drug
use, and I don't do drugs, but I have tried some. I'm just saying
that Red Ribbon week didn't change my mind even a little bit.

- -- Henry Neel, 16, Victorville

Drug use is a social issue and nothing I heard about during red
ribbon weeks altered my opinions about doing or not doing drugs. I
was a good little soldier and went through the motions with the rest
of my classmates. But most of us were rolling our eyes and laughing
about it even then.

- -- Mike Sharp, 17, Victorville

I don't feel that Red Ribbon Week has any great influence over the
aspects of drug use. Though it exists to motivate the idea of a drug
free community, it is not likely this dream will become a reality.
Though the Red Ribbon Week initiative is a good idea, I doubt it has
any actual effect on how most people think. It recently passed by at
my school, and we had several hundred of our students sign a paper, I
myself am one of them, pledging to keep myself, and my community,
drug free. Sadly, of our junior high student population not even a
full fifty percent signed this paper.

- -- Ross Kelsey, Age 13, Hook Junior High School

Red Ribbon Week does influence me regarding drug use because I know
I'm making a good choice in my life. When I see that other students
care it motivates me to make the right choice.

- -- Cecilia Pina, Age 13,

Hook Junior High School

Well I'm not sure about anyone else, but I know it convinced me to
not smoke and ruin my life because I know if I start it's hard to
stop. I try to tell my dad to stop smoking but he won't listen to me.
If he had a red ribbon week like we had he wouldn't be smoking.

- -- Jordan Watson, Age 13, Hook Junior School

Red Ribbon Week has sort of persuaded me not to do drugs, but I don't
think just saying "Don't Do Drugs" will influence kids not to do
drugs, however it has influenced kids to consider not doing drugs. We
have to do more, because there are still children out there that we
know and love are taking drugs because they were not educated enough
on the subject of drugs.

- -- Amaro Ruiz, Age 13, Hook Junior High School

Red Ribbon week at our school is always a good way to open the
teenage mind on how to make a dumb mistake, like smoking which can
lead you to an early grave. For me, whenever I see a picture of an
unhealthy citizen, I am always reminded of the horror and suffering
that one would go through if they would use drugs like methane,
crack, cigars and heroine.

- -- Javier Arellano, age 13, Hook Junior High School

Red ribbon week can really influence the minds of people to avoid
drugs. Especially when little children can be taught to do the right
or wrong thing, and red ribbon week helps kids grow up to be "DRUG FREE."

To me personally, red ribbon week has influenced me to stay away from
drugs as it has to many other people. I think red ribbon week is a
wonderful thing that should be encouraged worldwide to help make the
world be drug free.

- -- Juan Lopez, age 13, Hook Junior High School

For me, Red Ribbon Week only gave me a minor newsflash of what not to
do. I already know (and have known since the age of 7) not to smoke
or do any drugs.

My family and friends are a good enough influence for me as they all
say the same thing about it: "I'm not stupid." I've read and learned
about what drugs can do to you and frankly, I feel sorry for the
people who chose to take that path. All I can say to them is, "Have
fun on your last five years of your life."

If anyone were to hate life so much that they would walk up to
someone and say, "Hey, let's go smoke pot in an alley way," then they
need to wake up. Not everything in life is bad. There are things that
they could have loved about life besides the fact that you can kill
yourself if you're ever feeling down about yourself. I guess that all
I'm trying to say is that if anyone were to tell me to do drugs; I
would say the same thing to them that my friends and family said:
"I'm not stupid."

- -- Jonathan Konick, age 13, Hook Junior High

Joining Red Ribbon Week is one of the most important things a person
could for their community. It influences kids not to use drugs. Drugs
are bad and participating in Red Ribbon Week will be a start at
eliminating drugs.

The only reason kids use drugs is to relive stress and forget about
their bad lives. Another reason that they use drugs is that they
think that if they use drugs they're cool. So Red Ribbon Week is a
chance that kids can meet new friends that don't think drugs are cool
and that show support on being drug free.

- -- Ana Escobar, age 13, Hook Junior High School

Red Ribbon week makes me think of the health classes that I had last
year.One of the lessons we had was of how tobacco affects your body
and how nicotine makes you addicted to drugs.

Drugs are something that no one should take even though they might be
going through something really hard. There are many people that will
be willing to help them. Red ribbon has a lot of influence on me; it
makes me stay away from drugs, tobacco smoking and any other drugs. I
don't want to fall into that habit, because I know better and
everyone else should.

Red ribbon week helps everyone because people from the school help us
by asking us questions about how drugs might affect our brain and many more.

- -- Eveling Cerda, age 12, Hook Junior High School

What I think about drug use is it should only be allowed with a
prescription and not illegally.

The only way that a person can receive drugs is over the counter in
some drugstore and it must be by prescription only. Illegal use of
drugs can be dangerous and bad for your brain. If you use drugs too
often you may damage some brain cells and begin to get sick, or if
you have an over dosage of drugs it may even become deadly.

- -- Maria Rodriguez, age 13, Hook Junior High School