Drug-Free South is Making Drugs a Bad Deal

The Drug-Free South initiative is hosting a conference during Red Ribbon Week to showcase tools for use in drug prevention and education. It will take place October 28^th in the afternoon and is titled “Fight Back: Make Drugs a Bad Deal.”

Hosted by the Church of Scientology, which actively supports drug education and prevention initiatives, the seminar will provide vital tools to help parents, teachers and youth understand the dangers of addiction and how to remain healthy.

During the seminar, attendees will hear from police, advocates and government workers who are working every day to bring an end to the demand for drugs across Tennessee.

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

The Red Ribbon Campaign was started when drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying Red Ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America, according to redribbon.org.

Drug-Free South has participated in the campaign since 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, and getting the Drug-Free World public service announcements played on television.

Drug-Free South is the Tennessee Chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW). FDFW provides the Truth About Drugs booklets, the “They Said, They Lied” public service announcements, and the 100-minute documentary, The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories which all work together to provide students the facts on drugs. For more information, visit drugfreesouth.org.