Does Red Ribbon Week make a difference?
REDLANDS – Students throughoutthe Redlands Unified School District are wearing red, having assemblies and being educated on the dangers of drugs and alcohol to celebrate Red Ribbon Week from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. Ileana Reyes, director of sales and marketing for Informed Families, said the event definitely makes a difference when kids are making choices about whether they will use drugs. “After 23 years, it is still an ideal way for people and communities to unite and take a visible stand against drugs,” Reyes said. “(They) show their personal commitment to a drug-free lifestyle through the symbol of the red ribbon.” She said Red Ribbon Week was developed in memory of the torture and death of Kiki Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, in Mexico in 1985. Camarena went through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer, Reyes said. “When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out of it,” Reyes said. “‘I’m only
