Forum/Opinion

KEEPING YOUTHS OFF DRUGS

A recent national report says leading anti-drug efforts are largely
ineffective in preventing drug use by young people. This study is
disappointing but not surprising. Throughout its history, the work to
prevent drug and alcohol use by teen-agers and children has been met with
various analyses that say something doesn't work and something else does.
If society had all the answers by now, there would be no young people using
drugs.

Unfortunately, many youths are using drugs; sixty-one percent of the
students in U.S. high schools say drugs are used, kept or sold in their
schools. So adults and young people themselves must continue to try to find
the answer to "What works?" in stopping kids from using drugs, including
alcohol and tobacco.

The answer probably is that many different ways and efforts can work.

The National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse, which issued the
recent report, said the widely used Drug Abuse Resistance Education, also
known as DARE, program shows little evidence of having a long-term effect.
The report was based on two other studies that reached the same conclusion.

However, the national president of DARE, Glenn Levant, says the studies are
out of date and that the DARE curricula had been updated. He pointed out
that overall drug use has dropped since DARE programs began.

The new report also downplays the effectiveness of drug-free school zones,
saying their benefits were "not clear." Another popular idea,
zero-tolerance policies in schools, was reported as not working well.

In the light of these findings, what are parents, school districts and
police departments to do?

They should look at the end results of DARE and these other efforts in
their communities. Do these local programs appear to be working? Are there
other benefits as well?

Some police officers say the importance of law-enforcement personnel
delivering the anti-drug message cannot be overstated. They also point to
the relationships that they build with children in their communities, who
learn that police officers are their friends and can be trusted.

But programs that use only police officers and do not stress parental
involvement are missing something important.

Programs such as Project ALERT, adopted in some suburban districts in the
metropolitan area, is keyed on parental involvement. This is positive, in
part because parents who supply young people with alcohol are often a big
part of the problem.

Surveys from young people in Kansas City reveal that they want more
parental involvement in their lives. This is a clear place to start in
searching for anti-drug programs that work.