DODD: KIDS SHOULD HEAR DRUG WARNINGS EARLIER

Democratic presidential contender Chris Dodd said Monday that he
thinks children should hear warnings about the dangers of drugs as
early as first grade.

His comments on expanding drug education came after an Urbandale teen
told Dodd she is troubled that she knows a lot of people who use or
have used methamphetamine, including her brother.

Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, held a campaign discussion
about policies to help women and families at the House of Mercy,
which provides drug rehabilitation and other services for women in Des Moines.

"Intervening early with this, I think, is critical," he said of drug
education, adding that it should be age-appropriate. "I wouldn't have
thought so a few years ago, but we're kidding ourselves if we pretend
that children at an early age are not aware of more that's going on
than we think."

Maribeth Savage, 16, attended the campaign event with a teacher and
some of her classmates from Metro West Learning Academy, an
alternative high school in Grimes.

She told Dodd that she was exposed to Drug Abuse Resistance
Education, or D.A.R.E., only in fifth grade, but that students should
receive that education at every grade level. She also said more teens
should see the graphic messages about the dangers of methamphetamine
that she's seen crop up on public service announcements.

"I've seen so many of my friends ruin lives because they are doing
meth," she said to Dodd. "I know a lot of people that do it."

Dodd said even though people have complained that the D.A.R.E.
program has not been as thorough as possible, the program is not a
bad idea. It should be presented earlier to younger children, he said.

Michael Lien, a regional director for D.A.R.E., said the majority of
D.A.R.E. officers are placed in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms.

He said lower grade levels don't get as much time with D.A.R.E.
officers because of a lack of federal money and increasing pressure
on teachers to use classroom time for testing.

The issue of how to teach young children about the dangers of drugs
has been a source of debate within the organization, Lien said.

"Senator Dodd is on base with it, and yet it's not an easy
conclusion," he said.

Lien said the organization considered teaching elementary school
students about methamphetamine but ultimately decided against it.

"We, as a company, feel it's not age-appropriate," he said.