Just Say No

I remember Nancy Reagan had the, what was it? They

had the massive Just Say No campaign.

Just Say No.

No, that's what it was.

That's what I'm looking for.

Thank you, Peter.

I'm delighted to be here to help Major League Baseball salute the Just Say No program.

I know it seems like such a simple message, Just Say No, but it's an important one.

All over the country, young people are learning to say no to drugs.

The members of the Just Say No clubs who are here today, and the many other young people like them, and clubs all across America, are really the hope and the promise of the future.

they've made a commitment to live drug-free lives so they'll never have to go through the pains of withdrawal or the devastation which drugs cause these youngsters are fortunate because they can grow and learn and become anything they want to be so to all of you watching i ask you to please help us get the message out to our children If they're offered drugs, tell them to just say no. I'd like to thank Peter Yubarov and the Major League Baseball for their efforts in the fight against drug abuse and for taking time to recognize the Just Say No program.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity to reach such a large audience.

The preceding message was furnished by Major League Baseball.

But, you know, so you left.

But, you know, so the year after you left was when Grange Hill become, like, really became, like, forefront of the country because it was Just Say No and the White House and all that.

And I'll have to ask you this.

Was there any sort of, like, hints of jealousy or anything like that? Or any regrets on anything

Kidnapping, sexual abuse, and drugs.

Nancy Reagan even guest starred in a Just Say No episode, so imagine.

All that said, they decided to spare us all Dana Plato's pregnant body by sending Kimberly away to study abroad in France because that's what rich white girls do.

They don't get pregnant by a man named Lanny Lambert.

There was also, like, this, I believe, say, like, say no to drugs.

Just Say No was big then, although that might have been Nancy Reagan.

But I'm sure it was still the war on drugs, like D.A.R.E. program, all of that was probably still very prev- present at the time.

War in the Middle East.

And she made a beautiful statement.

This is part of the Just Say No campaign, which people mocked it on Saturday Night Live.

It was actually probably the most successful ad campaign in the history of the world because everybody knew the phrase.

Some people mocked it.

How many people actually said Just Say No? You know what? I was one of those.

I just said no to drugs and alcohol.

during that phase of my life.

Our country needs you, but it needs you to be clear-eyed.

So when we have all of that very concrete, especially at a young age, then when we start talking about substances and things like that, students may not use, especially because if they have that foundation so strong.

When I was a kid, the three-word mantra from Nancy Reagan was just say no, which...

It's easier said than done, but it's not bad.

Just say no.

That was the thing when I was a kid, but the Red Ribbon Week has really evolved beyond that.

Tell us how and why it has to evolve beyond that.

Don't touch the stove.

Don't touch the socket.

Everything makes a difference in trying to do something about it, and, uh, I can only speak to since the '80s, because, you know, I graduated high school in '84.

Uh, Ronald Reagan's president, Nancy Reagan took the lead in Just Say No to Drugs.

Yep.

If we, if we look at what you did and the efforts that were made and where we're at in 2026, this thing just continues to spiral out of control.

The best thing to do is not take drugs.

Well, it's easy enough to say that, Ross, but we know over many years and since the 80s, since the sort of just say no campaigns, that that really hasn't been very effective.

So it's about harm reduction and harm minimisation, which is effective and we know works.

So, Scott, my fear is that price is what plays a role here and that it's cheaper to get something off the street than it is to go into the pub and have a few beers.

You're not wrong in the context of some illicit substances so for example GHB which is a powerful sedative we know that the price of that really has come down and where the availability increases at the same time that does become more attractive so you're not wrong to kind of point in that direction that is in terms of illicit substances and then of course the use of ecstasy or MDMA has become more widespread But if your MDMA pill has an additional substance in there that you don't know that's really powerful or really toxic, you put yourself at significant risk.

Always loving to chat with Scott Drummond from the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association.

You remember the scene in Narcos, that series where they have the ad where Nancy Reagan goes, just say no.

Then they cross to the bloke going, no, Pablo, no, Pablo.