This week Youth to Youth is sponsoring Red Ribbon week. Red Ribbon week encourages students to stay away for drugs.

“I think it is spreading awareness that people need to be drug free, because it is just going to lead to bad problems in your life, but I think having people sign the pledges and giving them free pencils and stickers kind of gets them thinking about it,” said senior Arielle Butler.

10.6 percent of youths ages twelve through seventeen are illegal drug abusers.

“I think that it has made students more aware of the decisions that they have made, because we sit at this table and we make people sign legally binding contracts, as to whether they are drug free or not, and pledge to be drug free, and stay that way,” said senior Dakota Galban.

People who use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal substances in earlier years, are more likely to have a diagnoses, of major depressive disorders, alcohol dependence, or substance use disorders in their late twenties.

“Makes people more aware of the drug decisions that the make, like cigarette’s, tobacco, or alcohol, prescription medications, any thing bad for you,” Galban said.

“I hope it is a positive impact and it encourages people to think about what they do before they do it. If kids have never thought about doing drugs, hopefully they have, it encourages them to think, ‘Hey other people think that this isn’t cool, so I’m not going do it,'” English teacher April Butler said.

Over 900,000 people die each year from substance abuse, don’t be another statistic.