OFFICER DEFENDS DARE'S SUCCESS

Commerce Township - The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has
had its detractors over the years.

Some parents say the program takes away from academics and may
encourage children to turn in their parents or friends for drug use.
Others believe parents should be solely responsible for teaching moral
issues to their children.

But Oakland County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Cantanzaro
disagrees.

Cantanzaro has been teaching the drug resistance program in both the
Huron Valley and Walled Lake school districts for three years. He
believes he has made a difference over the years by making children
understand that they don't have to take drugs to be popular in school.

"Not only does it teach drug prevention and violence prevention, it
also helps kids make the right decisions and helps with their self-
esteem," Cantanzaro said.

He says negative sentiment about DARE stems from a lack of knowledge
about how the program works.

"Our response to them is to come into the classroom and see how it
works and see what we do," he said. "We're doing what we can. (The
students) will be making their decisions based on the information we
have given them."

The program, which began in 1983 and is based in Los Angeles, focuses
on providing information about alcohol and drugs and teaches students
the skills they need to resist them.

Schools in all 50 states are participating in DARE, as well as U.S.
Department of Defense schools throughout the world. Fifty-two
countries have implemented the program in their schools.