STUDIES PROVE DARE PROGRAM'S INEFFECTIVENESS

Editor, the Tribune:

Forrest Rose's excellent April 3 column makes the point that former
drug czar Barry McCaffrey's claim of drug war victory is less than
honest. McCaffrey is typical of drug warriors in that he routinely
uses the drug war's negative consequences as justification for
increased funding. Alcohol was once very much associated with
organized crime and violence, but that's no reason to reinstate
alcohol prohibition.

Rose's use of the popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education program as
an example of drug warrior misinformation is right on target. Every
methodologically sound 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 that harder drugs are relatively harmless as well. This is a
recipe for disaster. Anti-drug education programs need to be
reality-based or they might 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.

America's drug problem is far too serious to allow the entrenched
interests riding the drug war gravy train to dominate the debate.

Drug policy reform might send the wrong message to children, but I
like to think the children themselves are more important than the
message.

Robert Sharpe, program officer
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
4455 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite B-500
Washington, D.C.