TODAY'S PROGRAM A SOUND INVESTMENT

I would like to provide insight to the question posed by columnist
Julie Muhlstein on July 25 ("Heroin death raises questions on
education.")

Today's Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) may not be the DARE
with which most are familiar. Gone is the old-style approach to
prevention where an officer stands behind a podium and lectures
students. The new DARE curriculum includes officer-facilitated work,
role playing, discussion groups, utilization of research-based refusal
strategies, and decision-making skills that help the students develop
and assess choices they make in life. Students also see for
themselves, via stunning brain imagery, tangible proof of how
substances diminish mental activity, emotions, coordination and
movement. Mock courtroom exercises bring home the social and legal
consequences of drug use and violence.

In an effort to remain dynamic and address current issues facing our
communities and our children, supplemental lessons and activities on
methamphetamines, gangs, bullying, cyber-bullying and Internet safety
were developed in 2003. The most recent addition is the Rx/OTC
(prescription/over-the-counter) Drug Abuse materials, which include
lessons for elementary, middle and high school, as well as community
presentations.

There have been 18 studies since 1997 showing DARE is effective,
including a study by the National Medical Association showing DARE
graduates are five times less likely to begin smoking than non-DARE
graduates. Eleven of these studies can be found on our Web site,
www.dare.org, which receives more than 19 million hits per month and
is a valuable resource for parents, teachers and children.

DARE impacts 26 million children every year in all 50 states and more
than 50 foreign countries. Prevention and education regarding illegal
drugs, abuse of other substances, and violence is not only a sound
investment, it is a necessity.

Nadine Moorin

DARE America Northwest Regional Director