Index for the D.A.R.E. FAILING OUR KIDS series:

Sun, 27 Feb 2000:

D.A.R.E. Doesn't Work
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a04.html

DARE Wary Of Outside Reviews
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a02.html

Some Schools Opt Out Of Program
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n282/a04.html

Officers Become School Favorites
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a06.html

Officers Hope To Make A Difference
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a02.html

Analysis Tracks Students' Drug Use
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a03.html

Mon, 28 Feb 2000:

DARE's Clout Smothers Other Drug Programs
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a04.html

Raves Thrive As Teen Drug Havens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a04.html

Parents Struggle When Discussing Drugs With Teens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a05.html

Tips For Parents
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a03.html

Parents' Anti-Drug Resource Guide [many website links]
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a02.html

Tue, 29 Feb 2000:

Editorial: Drugs: Dare to be Honest
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a05.html

Readers: Cops Key to DARE Success, Failure
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a06.html

D.A.R.E. DOESN’T WORK

POPULAR ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM NOT MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN METRO DETROIT

Money Can Be Better Spent Elsewhere, Some Experts Say

DARE, a billion-dollar national drug prevention program, has no impact on
alcohol or drug use among Metro Detroit teen-agers, according to a Detroit
News investigation.

DARE -- which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- was introduced
in Metro Detroit in 1988 and currently is taught to 5th or 6th graders in 70
of the 88 area school districts.

But for all of DARE's expense, widespread use and powerful supporters, a
four-month Detroit News study found teens in districts that offered DARE in
elementary school were no less likely to try drugs and alcohol than teens
from districts without DARE.

What's worse, Metro Detroit drug use is higher than the national average.

The News found that about 60 percent of Detroit-area seniors in the survey
said they had tried drugs besides alcohol in their lifetime. That compares
to the national average of about 55 percent, reported by the University of
Michigan's Monitoring the Future study.

Such figures prompt DARE's critics to say it's a costly sugar pill that may
lull parents, police and educators into a dangerous, false confidence that
their kids won't do drugs. There is evidence the program may encourage drug
use and keep more effective programs from getting into schools.

Krystal Rogan, a 16-year-old Monroe resident, remembers the program as being
over her head in 5th grade.

"It didn't have anything to do with the decisions I made," said Rogan, at a
recent rave -- a party where many teen-agers use drugs -- in a Detroit
warehouse. "They tell you it's all about peer pressure. That's not how kids
make their choices. You do it because you want to, not because anybody is
telling you to."

Nevertheless, DARE has a large cadre of vocal and well-organized supporters
who believe it keeps kids off drugs, and has other benefits: fostering a
good rapport between youngsters and police, and building students' self
esteem.

"It's an excellent program," said the Rev. Willet Herrington of Garden City.
"I don't think you stop because of statistics. You have to keep spreading
that message."

DARE advocates say the program shouldn't be judged by studies. And the
police officers who teach DARE are quick to cite files of heart-felt
letters -- even wedding invitations -- from kids thanking DARE officers for
changing their lives.

"I am absolutely convinced the program works. We may not save everyone, but
I know we are saving some," said Sgt. Paul Wood, a Livonia DARE officer.

And students love it.

"I learned about drugs, peer pressure and how to say no," said Tracy
Bianchi, 11, of St. Clair Shores. "I think drugs are so uncool."

Perfect On The Surface

On the surface, DARE seems to be the perfect program to reduce drug use: It
shows kids the consequences of using drugs and teaches them different ways
to say no when someone offers them drugs.

DARE is taught an hour a week for 16 weeks -- usually to 5th graders, by a
uniformed officer. The program teaches zero use, and that any alcohol, drug
and tobacco use among teen-agers can lead to addiction.

But a growing body of evidence suggests that DARE's core message, no matter
how popular with 5th and 6th graders, doesn't stick with kids when they
start experimenting with drugs in 9th or 10th grade.

"The question is, can we overcome the rhetoric to see what the evidence is
telling us?" said Joel Brown, executive director of the Center for Education
Research and Development in Berkley, Calif., which has conducted long-term
studies on DARE.

"In study after study, we find programs like these don't work. DARE has been
involved in a massive expansion regardless of whether the science bears the
expansion worthy."

In addition to Brown's work and The News' analysis, at least four other
studies have found DARE made no difference in drug use three to six years
later.

A few studies showed DARE increased drug and alcohol use in suburban
schools. Researchers theorize that once teens see their friends
experimenting with drugs without full-blown addiction, they throw out all
the DARE lessons, creating a "boomerang" increase in drug use.

"Once that happens, they feel like they've been lied to, and reject the
whole message," said Donald Lynam, a researcher at the University of
Kentucky who has studied DARE's short- and long-term effects.

"Kids do drugs for a lot of reasons besides peer pressure: rebelliousness,
curiosity, the need for a new experience."

For Rogan, it was partly curiosity. First high at 15, she started using
Ecstasy and LSD soon after. But an article about drugs made her recognize
the warning signs in her own use. "I realized I was way too into it, and I
read what it does to your body," she said. "So I quit."

None of the study results has slowed DARE's spread. Praised by President
Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno and the National School Board
Association, 36 million kids worldwide learn DARE each year, according to
DARE America figures.

Next month, DARE will start in Bolivia, the 53rd country to adopt DARE. It
may even have an impact on foreign policy, since drug-trade countries such
as Colombia and Bolivia may be able to use the DARE program as evidence they
are fighting the drug war and avoid U.S. economic sanctions.

Naysayers Are Dismissed

DARE America's executive director, Glenn Levant, dismisses studies
questioning the program's effectiveness. The program does not need to be
evaluated, he said, because it is based on proven education techniques, such
as positive role modeling.

But if people need proof, he points to several surveys that ask students,
parents and teachers whether they liked the program. Most say they do.

"When they are happy with the program, then I know it's doing good," Levant
said.

Levant admits DARE America has never followed up to find out how many kids
used the DARE techniques -- such as repeatedly saying "No" or walking away
when offered drugs -- in later years.

The News' study compared self-reported drug and alcohol use of teens in 17
districts that offered DARE when they were in elementary school to teens in
16 districts that didn't. In all, 30,000 students were included.

Among the other findings:

* College-bound students had a slightly smaller increase in both drinking
and drug use between 8th and 12th grades.

* Neither race nor poverty proved to be a consistent indicator of increases
in local drug use.

Brian Gralnik, a criminal justice major at George Washington University,
believes DARE's problem is its zero-tolerance message.

"Face the facts: Young people are still engaging in this behavior," said
Gralnik, 20. "We're better off to preach reducing the consequences."

Last fall, Gralnik started Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an East Coast
campus movement that is lobbying Congress for programs that emphasize how to
identify warning signs of an overdose or drugs cut with rat poison.

"We grew up in the drug war, we're the DARE generation," Gralnik said. "It
doesn't work. Kids can't make an informed decision when they're only taught
to do it one way."

But DARE America's Levant says experimentation proves that DARE needs to be
reinforced at every grade level to really be effective --an expansion that
would cost an estimated $25 million a year in Metro Detroit alone.

"Anything is better than nothing, but common sense says more is better,"
Levant said. "Memory fades."

He also questions the motives of anyone who doubts the zero use message.

"There is no room for doubt," Levant said. I'm curious why a researcher
would think otherwise unless they are with a pro-legalization network."

That attitude has squelched research on other programs, say Lynam and Brown,
since many who suggest alternatives to DARE are accused of being pro-drug.

But some school districts -- and even some police -- have started to chafe
at DARE's strident message. Seattle, Milwaukee and Omaha, Neb. are among the
districts that have dropped DARE.

"We dropped it because there was no formal proof -- no statistics that
showed we were getting any benefit out of it," said Seattle Police
department spokesman Clem Benton. "It was based on the dollars."

Locally, districts such as Harper Woods and Clarkston have canceled DARE;
others such as Rochester never started it.

"I like (DARE) but it's very narrow, very rigid and expensive," said Oakland
County Sheriff Lt. Dale LaBair. "If you give kids more information they can
make better decisions. But is it best? I don't know. It's not economical."

$5 Per Student

DARE costs about $5 a student, which covers each 5th grader's DARE workbook,
T-shirt and ruler. But police time adds another $20-$50 per student,
depending on the department and the number of classes. It costs about $4,000
to train a DARE officer.

Total cost in Metro Detroit: well over $2 million a year. That doesn't
include benefits, overtime, drive time or additional message reinforcers
such as bumper stickers or hats.

Some police departments use community policing grants or drug forfeiture
money to pay DARE officers. Others use local money, fund raisers or
donations.

But no one really knows the program's true cost.

The U.S. Department of Education says DARE is not on its list of programs
whose effectiveness is proven. An expanded list is due out soon, but DARE
will not likely be on it, said Judith Pasquarella, of Michigan's Office of
Drug Control Policy.

But parents, faced with an insidious drug problem and few alternatives, are
reluctant to trash a program that has helped define drug prevention policy
for more than a decade.

"I think it has lost some of its effect. It seems like the kids are getting
more and more desensitized to the 'Just Say No' message. It's really up to
the parents," said Taylor parent Kathi Johnson.