National Red Ribbon Week Runs October 23-31: DEA Leads the 37th Annual Drug Prevention Campaign With the 2026 Theme 'Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free'
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says National Red Ribbon Week runs October 23 through October 31, the nation's largest and longest-running drug awareness and prevention campaign, now in its 37th year. The 2026 theme, “Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free,” was created by Griswold Middle School student Ava Tackett through the annual national theme contest run with the National Family Partnership.
DEA Administrator Terry Cole said this year's theme is a reminder that everyone has the power to make a difference, and that dangerous and deadly drugs come in many forms, including powder, pills and vapes, which can contain nicotine, marijuana concentrates and other illegal drugs and can be extremely addictive. The DEA calls Red Ribbon Week the cornerstone of its prevention efforts; this year's campaign supports the agency's Fentanyl-Free America initiative, a nationwide call to raise awareness of synthetic drugs containing fentanyl and other emerging threats.
Red Ribbon Week began in 1985, after DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped and murdered by drug traffickers. In his hometown of Calexico, California, young people began wearing red ribbons in his memory, and the effort spread across California and the country. The National Family Partnership launched the first National Red Ribbon Week in 1988, with President and Mrs. Reagan as honorary chairpersons. Every year since, schools, parents, educators and community organizations have used the week of October 23-31 to reinforce drug-free messages.
The DEA's virtual 2026 National Red Ribbon Rally is available on demand at dea.gov/redribbon and getsmartaboutdrugs.com throughout the month; it announces the winners of the DEA's 2026 Community Drug Prevention Awards and Visual Arts Contest. The agency has also released the new 2026 edition of its Drugs of Abuse publication with science-based information about dangerous substances. The DEA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) co-sponsor the 10th Annual Red Ribbon Campus Video PSA Contest, and the DEA co-sponsors the National Family Partnership's Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest; details are at dea.gov/redribbon.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：红丝带周宣誓卡——「我支持红丝带周，我宣誓过健康、远离毒品的生活」（美国空军在意大利Aviano空军基地红丝带周开幕式上拍摄）。图片：美国空军，公共领域（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: Red Ribbon Week pledge cards at the opening ceremony of Red Ribbon Week at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Image: U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
