A group of young people in Southern California is letting other youth know that it's not cool to take drugs. This month's anti-drug seminar at Lakeview Terrace in Southern California is an example of what Riders Against Drugs (RAD) is doing to help young people make informed decisions about drugs.
 | Riders Against Drugs (RAD) help young people make informed decisions about drugs. |
Nikki Dale, a 21 year-old snowboarder from the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, started Riders Against Drugs over a year ago when he realized that a high percentage of athletes are involved in taking drugs. Raised as a Scientologist, a drug-free religion, Nikki wanted to help athletes avoid the tragedy of addiction and make sure that other kids got the information he was given when he was growing up.
Riders Against Drugs educates young people on the harmful effects of drugs, so they can make a decision based on information that is neither hype nor rumor. In addition to giving seminars, such as the one RAD delivered in his San Fernando Valley neighborhood this month, group members go out into the community and pass out "Truth About Drugs" booklets, produced by the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, a secular non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. Last month they went to the beach and passed out over 1400 booklets in one afternoon to people on the Santa Monica Promenade. They are planning to be there again this month.
Nikki explained that as a kid he was always expected not to do drugs, but when he encountered peer pressure, it really helped to know what drugs actually do to people. "L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Scientology religion, wrote 'People who take drugs do not always see the real world in front of them. They are not really there. On a highway in casual contact, in a home, they can be very dangerous to you. People mistakenly believe they feel better or act better or are only happy when on drugs. This is just another delusion. Sooner of later the drugs will destroy them physically.' This is important for everyone to really take a good look at."
Dale is active in the snowboard and skateboard scene, but he wanted to help more than just the board sports athletes, so he decided to go with the term "riders". The word "riders" includes everybody—snowboarders, skateboarders, BMX riders, mountain bikers, motorcycle riders, surfers, horseback riders, scooter riders, mountain boarders, in-line skaters, water skiers, snow skiers, and virtually all young people.
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