Louisiana Rehab Delivers Drug Education for Red Ribbon Week
Oct. 23, 2017 marked the beginning of the 29th official Red Ribbon Week, a week focused on drug education and prevention in schools across America.
BATON ROUGE, La., October 27, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Each year from Oct. 23 to 27, schools, parents, kids, and communities observe Red Ribbon week, a week focused on raising awareness and teaching drug education. The week began in honor of a DEA agent who was abducted and later killed by a drug cartel. Communities across the country commemorate his fight against illegal drugs by hosting Red Ribbon week events. This is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation.
In recognition of this important week, Narconon Louisiana spent the first day of Red Ribbon Week educating kids on the dangers of drug abuse. They delivered drug education to over 100 kids in St. Martin, Louisiana consisting of defining what a drug is, how drugs damage the mind and the constructive ways to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
We have a responsibility not only as an organization that works with addicts but as members of society to help shape our future. It is very close to home that this generation cannot fall into the opiate epidemic like those who have come before it.
Aaron Olson, Director of Public Servicing Narconon Louisiana
This event came at a time when Louisiana is beginning to feel the effects of the opiate epidemic. Back in 2015, Louisiana was one of eight states that prescribed more opiates in one year than residents in the state. Many states such as Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia saw similar trends before the opiate epidemic took off in Louisiana. In 2016, a treatment center in New Orleans with over 800 admissions reported half of those admissions named opiates as their number 1 drug of choice.
In fact, this year Louisiana became one of the most recent states to take legal actions against drug manufacturers. According to the Morning Advocate, lawyers from the Louisiana Department of Health and the Governor’s Office filed a lawsuit at the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge.
Narconon Louisiana’s efforts to spread drug education are a direct answer to this problem. The center opened in 2006 as a humanitarian effort to combat drug addiction in the state and prevent future drug abuse. The goal will always be helping those who have struggled with addiction and preventing future addiction.
Source: Narconon New Life Retreat
