Courtesy Photo | Red Ribbon Week is observed Oct. 23-31 annually. This is the 2023 Red Ribbon Week...... read more read more
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Red Ribbon week is celebrated annually from Oct. 23-31, and is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program.
The 2023 theme is “Be Kind To Your Mind. Live Drug Free.”
Red Ribbon Week is in honor of Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Camarena served in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968 for two years and then joined the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Camarena was detailed to go to Mexico, where he remained on the “trail of the country’s biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers,” according to dea.gov. However, in 1985, Camarena was brutally tortured and murdered by drug traffickers who he was investigating in Mexico.
Camarena received “two Sustained Superior Performance Awards, a Special Achievement Award and, posthumously, the Administrator’s Award of Honor, the highest award granted by the DEA,” according to the DEA. Shortly after Camarena’s death, Congressman Duncan Hunter and high school friend Henry Lozano created the “Camarena Clubs” and the wearing of a red ribbon to show their opposition to drugs.
Camarena Clubs and their message quickly “gained momentum and members presented Camarena Club Proclamation to then-First Lady Nancy Reagan, bringing it national attention.”
The National Family Partnership, with President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan (serving as honorary chairpersons) formalized the campaign in 1988. According to the DEA, in 2022, the DEA has seized more than 58.4 million fentanyl-lace fake pills and more than 13,000 pounds of fentanyl powder.
“In 2021, the latest full year of data available, there were 1,427 deaths in Wisconsin related to opioids,” states the Wisconsin Department of Health Services at www.dhs.wi.gov.
So, during Oct 23-31 every year, we wear red ribbons to represent the pledge to live drug-free and to honor the sacrifice of those all who have lost their lives in the fight against drugs.
Red Ribbon Week is a great time to talk to children and other loved ones regarding drugs and to empower them with the knowledge to make safe choices. Through awareness and education, we can provide the right tools to make great decisions.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol issues, please reach out for help. The Fort McCoy Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) prevention office is also available for training or resources.
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy ASAP office.)
| Date Taken: | 10.23.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2023 10:14 |
| Story ID: | 456390 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 553 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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