Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2007
Source: Lufkin Daily News (TX)
Copyright: 2007 The Lufkin Daily News
Contact:  http://www.lufkindailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3616
Bookmark: http://drugnews.org/topics/red+ribbon (Red Ribbon Week)

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

One Person Really Can Make A Difference

Even those who are familiar with Red Ribbon Week as a  campaign in 
our public schools against drug and alcohol  use, might not be aware 
of the history of the campaign,  which is being observed this week.

It honors the memory of a Drug Enforcement  Administration agent, 
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was  tortured to death while working 
undercover,  investigating a major drug cartel in Mexico. He 
had  been kidnapped by a group of men while on his way to  meet his 
wife for lunch.

His mother had tried to talk him out of joining the  DEA, because of 
the danger. But the former Marine and  police officer, who had grown 
up in poverty, told his  mother that there was no way he could 
refuse. Even  though he was only one person, he believed one 
person  could make a difference.

Many of those whose lives are endangered by illegal  substances 
aren't undercover narcotics agents who die  at the hand of drug 
cartel assassins. They're minors  who consume alcohol, many of whom 
die at the hand of a  friend - friends who give them alcohol and 
friends who drink and drive.

The friends who provided 19-year-old Nik Gallegos, an  SFA freshman 
who died last month after drinking too  much at a party, are now 
facing criminal charges. Even  if they were to be dropped or they 
never spend a day in  jail, it's likely that thoughts of what 
happened that  night will torture them the rest of their days.

Although SFA officials say Gallegos' death was the  first such 
occurrence for the college, it's likely that  Gallegos isn't the 
first student to suffer from alcohol  poisoning. We don't have the 
statistics on those who  have come close.

Alcohol is a drug, and in the possession of a minor, an  illegal 
substance, although far too often, it isn't  considered as such. 
Alcohol continues to be the most  widely used substance among Texas 
students, according  to a survey of 78 Texas school districts by the 
Department of State Health Services. Binge drinking,  which was 
defined as having five or more drinks on one  occasion, was reported 
by 23 percent; 24 percent of  high school seniors said they had 
driven a car after  having a "good bit" to drink; and 10 percent had 
gone  to class drunk.

One of the more telling statistics is the effect that  parental 
approval had on drinking. Only 19 percent of  students who said their 
parents disapproved reported  past-month drinking, compared to 50 
percent of those  who said their parents approved.

That proves that what Camarena believed, that one  person can make a 
difference, is true.

Be a friend. Be a parent. Be the one who makes a  difference.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom