MORE THAN MONEY AT STAKE WITH DARE

The fact that a Waukesha County task force charged with evaluating the
popular but controversial Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has
already expressed support for the program is cause for alarm. Objective
evaluators typically wait until after an evaluation is completed before
voicing approval for a particular program.

County residents have good reason to question the DARE program. There is
far more at stake than money. Every methodologically sound, independent
evaluation of DARE has found the program to be either ineffective or
counterproductive. The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students
who realize they are being lied to about marijuana often make the mistake
of assuming the harder drugs are relatively harmless as well. This is a
recipe for disaster.

Anti-drug programs need to be reality-based or they will backfire when kids
are inevitably exposed to drug use among their peers. After almost two
decades of DARE, heroin use among high school seniors has reached record
levels. Minimizing drug use requires strategies based on proven
effectiveness, not "feel-good" programs that please parents, educators and
police. Good intentions are no substitute for effective anti-drug education.

To verify record levels of heroin use, visit the Monitoring the Future site
at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org.

Robert Sharpe, program officer the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation