Takes ‘Just Say No’ Campaign to Oakland : First Lady Warns Children of Drug Peril

First Lady Nancy Reagan took her drug-abuse crusade Tuesday to drug-plagued Oakland, where she warned an auditorium full of schoolchildren that drugs “can make you sick--so sick that you don’t even want to live anymore.”

About 4,000 children chanted along with the First Lady when she and a handful of young television actors led the cheer: “Just say ‘no!’ ”

That phrase also is the name of a worldwide organization of “positive peer pressure” anti-drug abuse clubs for children. As the chant grew louder, the First Lady’s smile grew wider.

Addresses Convention

“Someday,” she told the convention of Just Say No clubs from Northern California, “someone is going to offer you drugs and say: ‘Come on, everyone does it and it’s fun.’

“But everyone does not do it and it’s not fun. And it takes a lot more courage to say ‘no’ than it does to say ‘yes.’ ”

Mrs. Reagan spoke after a show of anti-drug cheerleading and martial arts exhibitions. The First Lady applauded each act and chatted with the students sitting around her on the auditorium floor in front of the stage.

In addition to the children’s rally, the First Lady was in Oakland to attend a fund-raising dinner for another drug-abuse group, Pros for Kids, which was founded by former San Francisco 49ers football players Delvin Williams and Larry Schreiber.

Philosophy of Clubs

Just Say No clubs teach elementary and even preschool children about the harmful effects of drugs and encourage healthier pursuits by making it socially acceptable to refuse drugs.

The First Lady, who launched a personal anti-drug abuse campaign shortly after entering the White House, is credited with inspiring the creation of Just Say No during a visit two years ago to see the work of Oakland Parents in Action.

The program has been endorsed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has spread throughout the world.

Meanwhile, President Reagan flew to Point Mugu Naval Air Station from Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday. The First Lady will join him at their ranch north of Santa Barbara today. Other family members will go to the ranch Thursday for the traditional holiday dinner.

Tribute to Reagan

There are no public events on the President’s schedule until Sunday, when he will travel to Los Angeles for the television taping of an “All Star Tribute to Dutch Reagan.” The show will be aired on CBS on Dec. 8, and will feature more than a hundred Hollywood stars paying homage to Reagan. Proceeds of the show will be donated to a hospital in Reagan’s name.

The President returns to Washington Monday evening via Seattle, Wash., where he will appear at two fund-raising events for Republican Sen. Slade Gorton.

Staff writer Eleanor Clift in Santa Barbara contributed to this story.