CAMP ZAMA, Japan (Nov. 6, 2015) -- Red Ribbon Week, a national campaign that brings drug abuse awareness to school systems, was held Oct. 26 to 30 at Arnn Elementary School on Sagamihara Family Housing Area installation.
"This year's Red Ribbon Week is all about making smart choices in life," said Esther Dacanay, prevention specialist for Camp Zama's Army Substance Abuse Program.
According to RedRibbonWeek.org, this campaign started in response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, when angered parents and youth in communities across the United States began wearing red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
Red Ribbon Week is held annually since 1985. This year's theme is "Respect Yourself, Be Drug Free."
Julie Pascua, an art teacher, said every year the students participate in RRW by making posters for a contest depicting drug-free happy, healthy lives.
"Every year the themes are a little bit different, but the overall theme is to thrive-- live with intent," said Pascua. The students are trying to create awareness that the drugs are out there and making good healthy choices is going to keep you away from them.
Dacanay said one of their goals for visiting the students during this week was to show how kids can be leaders and set themselves apart from others by finding their "power image."
"You don't have to follow along with the crowd-- you can power your way out," said Dacanay.
The 901st Military Police Detachment of U.S. Army Japan supported RRW at Arnn with K-9 demonstrations and they also came to show the students that they have the power within themselves to be leaders, said Dacanay.
Vito, a military working dog, demonstrated how he is able to look for danger; he is trained to look for dangerous items and illegal substances, said Dacanay, and the MPs wanted to make sure the students know that we have organizations and systems in place to help them look for things that are not meant to be in schools.
Sgt. 1st Class Russell Minto, assigned to 901st MP Det., said the demonstrations were for the prevention and knowledge of drug use.
"The message that I wanted to convey is that if drugs are on this installation we will find them, we will not allow them on; we are here to support the community to include these young children," said Minto.
With demonstrations, support from the military police detachment, and with programs like ASAP, students at Arnn can be educated on the bad effects and big trouble they can get into for having or carrying illegal substances, said Minto.
Throughout the week, ASAP visited the students inside the classrooms to teach more lessons on drug abuse and how to thrive by saying "no" to drugs.
"We kind of went a little bit deeper into the weeds about what drugs are and what they are all about-- what (drugs) do to the inside the body, and how they can change you over time," said Dacanay.
A lot of the students might know that drugs are bad for you, but they don't know that sometimes they can be disguised as normal things like food or anything that you use inside the house, said Dacanay.
Laura Forrester, fourth-grader, said that she learned that if you take drugs, it can prevent you from doing good things in your life.
"It is important not to do drugs because it can hurt you from the inside out," said Laura.
"Any substance or item that you put inside your body that is not food is not meant to be there," said Dacanay.
Making smart choices is simple-- it starts by learning to tone down impulse control, said Dacanay.
One way to learn to control your impulses, she said, is to ask yourself, "do I really need this now, do I really need this ever, or is this a good choice?" By making smart life choices now, someone will be strong enough to resist drugs or alcohol later on in the future.
Kids have to learn and understand that even with peer pressure and in the situations where their friends are doing it -- maybe sniffing a household item whether it is illegal or not-- something like that is going to change their body over time, and not for the best, said Dacanay.
"It is definitely important for them to see the difference between a person who chooses life and a person who chooses the impulses and what happen to them over a time," said Dacanay, "are they able to hold on to the things that are important to them, are they able to hold on to the values such as trust and respect and hold on to good reputation, are they able to be taken seriously because they are reliable?"
People can't be all those things: reliable, trustworthy, and respectable and have a good reputation, if they are allowing a certain substances to enter into their bodies, said Dacanay.
"It (will) control their brain; which controls everything in their life."
Wyatt Moore, fourth-grader, said he learned that some drugs can make you look about 30 years older than you actually are.
"It is important for you to not to take drugs because it can hurt your lungs and it could make it harder for you to breathe air in and out--you are more likely to die when your taking drugs than without," said Wyatt.
"The important thing is to find a good outlet that will help compensate for things that might be going on, and have a good support network to connect to, so that you can thrive," said Dacanay.
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