Mickey and Friends Rap Drug Use

Mickey Mouse and Pluto visited two schools on Tuesday to introduce “Free From Drugs,” a new program that uses rap music to discourage youngsters from using drugs.

“Free From Drugs” was created by the county’s Drug Use Is Life Abuse organization and is now available to schools throughout Orange County. The program is aimed at children in kindergarten through third grade and can be taught before the organization’s “Positively Know Drugs” program for youngsters in grades four through six.

“I think all of us realize that a critical time period for kids is between kindergarten and sixth grade,” Sheriff Brad Gates said. “We want to encourage the next generation not to get involved with drugs. That’s where we win the war.”

Any police department in the county can have its officers trained to teach the program’s curriculum, which is presented to students during four classroom visits, Gates said.

Three new characters created by Disney especially for this program will deliver the “Free From Drugs” message. The characters, Skippy, Spike and Wise Owl Mike, are also the first Disney likenesses to be used for an outside venture.

“We felt that in the long run, it would be better to create characters that are identified specifically with this program,” said Charles Boyer, the artist who created them.

“We used the same Disney principles as we always have in creating these,” he said. “They have the same cuteness and affability as our other characters. We hope that when children see these characters, they will think about saying no to drugs.”

The new characters, who visited Taft Elementary School and Taft Hearing Impaired School in Santa Ana, were a big hit with students.

“They are cute,” fifth-grader Jessica Hobbie said. “I like them just as much as Mickey Mouse.”

The centerpiece of the program is a 20-page booklet featuring the lyrics to the song “Drug-Free Rap,” a drug dictionary, and various educational exercises. The booklet also lists ways parents can detect drug abuse in their children.

Since about 300 of the students at Tuesday’s program were hearing-impaired, they had to learn the rap music through sign language. This presented a special challenge for interpreter Julie Kearns, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Department.

“They saw Mickey and Pluto dancing, and they seemed to really enjoy themselves,” Kearns said.

Organizers said Disney veterans like Mickey Mouse and Pluto won’t be making any more public appearances in conjunction with the program once life-size costumes are created for Skippy, Spike and Wise Owl Mike.

Gates and others will be presenting the “Free From Drugs” program to the President’s Council on Drugs National Leadership Forum in Washington on Nov. 9.

“We would like to see this program used nationally,” Gates said.