D.A.R.E. SHOULD BE OUTLAWED

Re: D.A.R.E. valuable lesson for children

As a Federal Medical Marijuana license holder who is also married to
one, and as a spiritual user of cannabis, I consider D.A.R.E. nothing
short of hate propaganda on par with holocaust denial.

The only "valuable lesson" D.A.R.E. has ever done is make millions of
kids realize that cops are incapable of telling the truth when it
comes to drugs.

As soon as they hear all this 'one joint and you are hooked for life'
reefer madness, they go check the Internet, and realize that they
have been systematically lied to.

In that way the police completely undermine their own credibility,
fostering even more resentment towards authority.

Drug use is a health issue and we should have nurses instructing kids
about them, not cops. Sending in a cop to talk to kids about drugs is
like sending in a priest to teach them about sex; "Just don't do it,
mister, or you'll be in big trouble."

Also, the fact that taxpayers' dollars are used for this fear and
fealty campaign is sick and reprehensible in the extreme. It should
be illegal to go into schools and deliberately frighten and mislead
kids, but no, we use taxpayers' dollars to send cops in to do it. It
isn't just irresponsible, it is obscene.

D.A.R.E. uses non-factual information, they foster resentment towards
drug users, they monger fear and spin things with balderdash. They
bewilder kids with sloganeering and oath-taking, downplay marijuana's
well-documented medicinal values, exaggerate its supposed dangers and
put forth out-dated junk science as fact.

Some studies even show that the D.A.R.E. program increases drug use.
Don't believe me? Since D.A.R.E. started back in the 1980s, pot use
among Canadian teens has quadrupled!

If only D.A.R.E. would temper its "say no or else" message with some
actual scientific truth, it might be worth saving. As it is, it
should be outlawed.

For those keen on teaching kids about drugs without all the
hypocritical balderdash of the D.A.R.E. program, I recommend
Educators For Sensible Drug Policy, www.efsdp.org.

Russell Barth Federal Medical Marijuana license holder Patients
Against Ignorance and Discrimination on Cannabis (PAIDOC) Ottawa