LOS ALAMITOS, CA — Red Ribbon Week is celebrated annually Oct. 23-31 to demonstrate the importance of living a drug-free lifestyle. It is the oldest drug-free campaign, established in 1980 as a non-profit organization. The origin story of Red Ribbon Week starts with a man named Kiki Camarena.
Kiki Camarena contributed to the world in many ways. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and he was a fireman, police officer, Imperial County Sheriff, and finally a special agent in the Drug Enforcement Administration.
One of his cases included shutting down a multi-billion dollar drug pipeline. On Feb. 7, he was kidnapped by drug traffickers, tortured for over 30 hours, and murdered. The police didn’t find the body until March 5, 1985.
After his death, Camarena’s high school friend Henry Lozano and Congressman Duncan Hunter started the Camarena Clubs in Calexico, California to show appreciation of Camarena’s sacrifices. Tons of club members wore red ribbons to show their deep reverence for Camarena and pledged to live a drug-free life.
This club was presented to the First Lady at the time, Nancy Reagan, to gain national recognition. Three years later, the campaign was established by the National Family Partnership and is still running today as a week to celebrate intolerance for drugs all over the nation.
Los Alamitos High School has participated in this celebration for many years. This year, ASB posted dress-up days to show support of Red Ribbon Week. The following were the dress-up days for last week:
“Red Ribbon Week is important [because] we can show students the importance of not doing drugs so they can protect themselves in the future,” said Madison Quary, a freshman in ASB.
On Oct. 25, freshmen and sophomores learned more about the importance of not doing drugs when they went to an assembly detailing the truth about vaping, marijuana, and fentanyl.
“I think [the assembly] spreads awareness to people around the school to be safe. You never know what’s out there,” said Berlineda Wempe, another freshman.
Even as Red Ribbon Week comes to a close, Kiki Camarena’s sacrifices made to keep others safe from dangerous drugs will always be remembered, as well as the importance of staying off of harmful substances. Be safe out there, Los Al!
