OUR KIDS ARE LISTENING

What Is the Number One Reason Students Won't Do Drugs? Parents.

Talking to your children about drugs is the best weapon available. If
boundaries are set and followed through by you, your teen is less
likely to try drugs. According to the Florida Youth Survey, two out
of three teens in Marion County have tried a drug in their lifetime.
Communication, discipline and nurturing are the keys to raising a
drug-free child.

Red Ribbon Week in Marion County kicked off Saturday and runs through
Oct. 31, and according to Dan Geer, Safe and Drug Free School
consultant for Marion County Schools, this year will focus on family
activities.

"We understand the important part families play in keeping children
away from drugs," Geer said. "While parents might not think so,
children are listening."

This year's campaign, titled "Rockin' to a Drug Free Beat," is the
15th year the Marion County Prevention Association has hosted Red
Ribbon. The campaign began in 1985 as a combined result of outrage
and frustration at the brutal torture and murder of Federal Drug
Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena by drug
traffickers in Mexico.

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a
major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army,
police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left
his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the
agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's
body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death.

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs,
friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents,
sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, began forming
coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model
and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These
coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon.

The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red
Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached
millions of U.S. children.

How has the campaign affected the youth of Marion County? It is
making a difference. A survey released by the Florida Office of Drug
Control indicates that drug use is dropping among Marion County youth
and that local middle and high school students are making the right
choices regarding the use of drugs. The survey, provided by the
Community Council Against Substance Abuse of Marion County, had some
eye-opening statistics:

Current use of marijuana dropped 29 percent, to 10.9, a decline of
4.5 percentage points;

Current use of illicit drugs declined 20 percent, to 15.2 percent,
which is a decline of 4 percentage points;

Students reported a 14 percent reduction in lifetime use of
cigarettes, which is a drop of 6.8 percentage points;

Past 30-day use of ecstasy has declined 68 percent, from 3.2 percent
in 2002 to 1 percent in 2004.

The findings also showed that relatively few students reported they
would be seen as "cool" by their peers if they drank alcohol
regularly (11.7 percent), smoked cigarettes (5.6 percent) or used
marijuana (10 percent).

The Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey for county-specific data is
conducted every two years and was administered to 955 Marion County
students in grades 6 through 12 in the spring of 2004. As a
community, we can stand together during Red Ribbon Week to let our
children know that drugs are not the solution to life's problems.

Our kids are listening.

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RED RIBBON WEEK: Activities began Saturday, Red Ribbon Decoration
Day, as students from area youth groups decorated parts of Marion
County with red ribbons.

On Monday, the Marion County Prevention Association will launch the
2006 Red Ribbon Campaign with a Kick-Off Celebration at the Ocala
Police Department Headquarters on Pine Avenue. Activities will
include music, refreshments, free food and rockin' bands and dancers,
6-8 p.m. The events conclude with safe Halloween events at the Ocala
Police Department and the YMCA.

For a complete listing of all activities, call Dan Geer at (352)
671-6397 or Matt Matthews at (352) 629-8231.