DARE TRY SOMETHING NEW TO FIGHT DRUGS

For more than two decades, the pre-eminent program used in the
nation's public schools has been DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse
Resistance Education.

Over that span, hundreds of thousands of kids have been pulled away
from their class work to hear law enforcement personnel tell them of
the dangers of illegal drug use. Hundreds of millions of dollars have
been spent on the program, which once reached into three out of four
elementary schools in the nation.

A decade ago, evidence began mounting that there was a fundamental
problem with DARE -- it doesn't work. But it's still being funded and
used in many schools around the country, including many Alabama
schools and some in Montgomery County.

Studies found that after a few years, there is no difference in
illicit drug use among those who go through the DARE program and those
who do not.

The federal government now discourages the use of funds on DARE, and
DARE officials finally admit they might have some problems with their
curriculum. But there still remains no scientifically based evidence
that it works.

The Montgomery Police Department and the Montgomery Public School
system stopped using DARE in schools in the city a few years ago, but
the Montgomery Sheriff's Office still operates a limited program in
several schools in the rural parts of the county, according to a
school system spokeswoman.

Several participants in a recent seminar at the University of Alabama
Birmingham said the state's drug abuse prevention efforts should focus
on local treatment and counseling options for youth and families
instead of DARE.

Judge Karen Freeman Wilson, director of the National Association of
Drug Court Professionals, told the UAB gathering that a broader use of
drug courts could be a way to help more people. Drug courts emphasize
rehabilitation over prison for drug offenders.

There are 11 drug courts in Alabama, including one in Montgomery
County. But they are reaching far too small a percentage of users.

The state also needs more local treatment options for youthful drug
offenders. Several family court judges said at the UAB meeting that
they are either forced to incarcerate youthful drug offenders or to
send them far away to treatment programs, sometimes even out of state.

The state needs to spend far more than it does on building treatment
programs for young people in every community. Considering the
financial problems state government faces, there probably will not be
new infusions of money for drug courts and drug treatment in the near
future. But at least the money already being spent needs to go to
programs that can be proved to work.