Wear Red. Dress up as a teacher. Dress from your favorite decade. Wear your Halloween costume. Wear your favorite sports gear.

These are the days for the Red Ribbon Week starting today. Red Ribbon Week is a week where you can dress up to say no to drugs, but it is so much more than that.

Red Ribbon Week was formed after Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. He was killed when he was doing a drug investigation. To remember this hard worker, family man, husband and friend to many, Red Ribbon Week was established. To get people to say no to drugs, there were days formed to convince students to feel some spirit and therefore obtain knowledge about why drugs are bad for you. This is why not doing drugs is crucial. 

For high schoolers especially, students are introduced to all sorts of things. One of which can be drugs. The thing about drugs, especially in a state that does not legalize any, is that everything people get can be laced. Even some vapes have pesticides in them, which can be used to kill rodents. Even with a disposable THC pen, they can even be laced with fentanyl. Fentanyl can be lethal just with 2mg. That can look like seven grains of salt. This is why it is important to say no to drugs. Anything could be in them, and they could kill you.

Red Ribbon Week is also used to honor those who have died of drugs, or even overcome an addiction. People who have been addicted to drugs have stated that drugs can eventually take over someone’s brain. They make people itch for them, which is not good, and drugs can even ruin people’s relationships with others. People have lost their family because of drugs, drugs have taken lives, and drugs have impacted every individual in a negative way.

Red Ribbon Week should focus more on saying no to drugs. People have forgotten about the day and its meanings. The school can start recognizing red ribbon week by embracing it. The more we dress up, the more we learn, and the more we say no to drugs is how we can embrace red ribbon week.