Drug-Free South Says Drugs are a Scary Story

To protect youth from the disastrous effects of abusing drugs, Drug-Free South is bringing the truth directly to students and the community during Halloween.

The week leading up to Halloween is often filled with children frantically deciding what costume to wear or ensuring they have enough bags to fill with candy, but many don’t know that this week is also a time to fight drug abuse and come together with solutions to end addiction. The week is known across the country as Red Ribbon Week, commemorating DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who died in the line of duty in 1985.
 

Of course, everything looks different in 2020 than in previous years.

“Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country,” according to imdrugfree.com, and it occurs during the last week of October each year. This is the best time to educate young people and help prevent drug abuse.

As it comes right before Halloween, Drug-Free South organizers encourage parents of young children to participate as well, ensuring their children remain healthy and safe during the holiday.
 

Many online resources are available to parents and teachers virtually: drugfreeworld.org and drugfreegeneration.org are among those websites with downloadable information and programs.

Drug-Free South began observing Red Ribbon Week in Tennessee in 2009 by distributing copies of The Truth About Drugs booklets, which help young people understand what drugs are and how they affect the user, visiting school classrooms to deliver a seminar to students utilizing the documentary The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories, and getting the Drug-Free World public service announcements played on television. Drug-Free South has provided seminars to students in over thirty counties in Tennessee.

Drug-Free South is the Tennessee chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, an international non-profit organization. Its materials demonstrate the dangers of drugs through factual information and interviews with former addicts giving personal perspectives on each of the substances covered. For more information, visit drugfreesouth.org.