The Rise Above Alcohol and Drugs (RAAD) Southwest Prevention Symposium took place on Friday at the El Dorado Conference Center.
The symposium focused on alcohol and drug abuse prevention and getting more youth involved with those efforts.
“We do a lot of drug prevention with youth, ages nine to 20 years old,” Alexander Smith, who organized the symposium and works with Magnolia’s chapter of RAAD, said. “We are federally funded and we comprise a mini conference annually to recruit and raise awareness about alcohol and drug prevention.”
The keynote speaker of the symposium was Ray Lozano, a drug and substance prevention specialist and youth speaker. During his address, he talked about the brain development of teens, emphasizing that because the frontal lobe of youth are still developing, they are more susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse.
Lozano also said recent research on the impact of COVID-19 on teens and alcohol and drug abuse shows an uptick in usage among teens in part because of boredom.
“A kid’s brain has to figure out what to do with boredom. What is going to cure that,” Lozano said. “So one of the things we’re seeing is more usage of marijuana and alcohol just because of boredom. Their body and brain doesn’t like that feeling so it is trying to get rid of that. This is also happening in part because of the lack of interaction between teens and students.”
The symposium lasted a total of four hours with a catered lunch break in the middle. Other speakers included El Dorado City Council member Willie McGee, who talked about efforts to combat alcohol and drug abuse in South Arkansas. Smith gave an address as well, where he talked about the impact and benefits of drug prevention on youth.
As part of Smith’s address, he showed a new commercial made by RAAD with the Young Artists Studio Youth Coalition, based in El Dorado, to inspire young people to get involved with prevention.
“No one has seen this commercial yet and we hope it will be a tool to get other youth motivated to join the movement in fighting drugs,” Smith said.
For those in attendance, “swag bags” were gifted with items like a mask, mug, journal, pens and more.
Smith concluded with what he hopes people will take away from the symposium.
“The community has got to get behind the young people,” Smith said. “They have to support the movement and as Willie McGee said during the symposium, we have to support everything that they (teens) do. Even if we don’t always agree with it, they need a voice more than ever, and we have to be willing to take a step back and hear them out.”