DARE TO IMPROVE

ANY educational program that evokes laughter and mockery deserves to
be re-examined.

So let's hope that the West Vancouver school board and the West
Vancouver Police are prepared to listen with an open mind to the
serious concerns expressed by the West Vancouver Youth Advisory
Committee about the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.

DARE began in Los Angeles in 1983 and has been used and developed by
West Vancouver Police since 1995 to teach students in Grades 5, 7 and
how to recognize and resist peer pressure to try alcohol, tobacco and
illegal drugs. The program promotes zero tolerance of substance abuse.

However, says the youth committee, while a message of 'Just say no'
might work for young children, it's ineffective with older students
who are starting to think for themselves.

The committee makes some persuasive arguments: DARE and similar
programs need to be backed by counselling facilities and the
recognition that substance abuse can be linked to problems other than
peer pressure; DARE does not deal head-on with hard drug
experimentation; the high rate of drug and alcohol use among older
students should be combatted with a program aimed at secondary students.

West Vancouver Police are to be commended for their proactive approach
to drug education, but there may be a way of improving how we reach
our kids on this life-threatening matter.