This is Red Ribbon Week at Churchville-Chili Middle School. This is the week when we stop and consider the consequences of using drugs and alcohol and the benefits of not using them. I talked last week about how quickly young brains and bodies can become addicted to these substances. If you believed everything I said, you should be convinced to live a drug-free life. The problem is that many young people think they know more than I do, that I’m just trying to scare you and one little rush can’t do any harm. Here’s why you’re wrong.

There’s a chemical in your brain that sets your pleasure centers dancing. It is released when you stare at a sunset or when you go out for a run or when you have a nice conversation with friends. It is also released when you do drugs. The problem is that it is released in massive quantities by drugs. It causes what is called a rush and it calls on the body to do it again and again. The same level of rush requires more and more of the substance and it becomes increasingly likely that you’ll take in more drugs than your body can stand and you’ll overdose.

Even if you’re lucky and you don’t o.d., you will make it practically impossible to enjoy those sunsets, runs and conversations that used to give you pleasure. Subtle pleasures will bore you compared to the rush induced by drugs.

I hope you’ll take my words today seriously. If you don’t, I hope the consequences you face are manageable. I want each of you to live your life drug-free and to the fullest.