Red Ribbon Week aims to educate parents and kids about dangers associated with substance abuse

By Staff Writer

Children across the nation will participate in Red Ribbon Week next week to raise awareness about the dangers linked to substance abuse.

According to the Enid News and Eagle, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) is encouraging parents and students to take advantage of the programs, especially amidst escalating problems of teenagers abusing prescription medications.

A spokesman for the OBN said that Red Ribbon Week was started by the family of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Kiki Camarena, who was killed by drug traffickers in Mexico City in 1985. Members of Camarena's family donned red ribbons in his honor and, in 1988, Congress proclaimed the first national Red Ribbon Week.

This year's Red Ribbon Week runs from October 23 to 31. The OBN director said that the events should instigate dialogue between parents and their children about the harmful effects of substance abuse. He stressed the importance of educating kids by saying that the country's future is at stake.

Drugfree.org reports that nearly one in five teens abuse over-the-counter medications in order to get high.