DARE DOESN'T WORK

DARE doesn't work The Feb. 16 article on the DARE program at the
Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley School District was forwarded to me by a
friend at Hamline University. With regard to the DARE program, I would
ask the parents of that school district this: Did they bother to read
any research studies on DARE before scrambling to save the anti-drug
program?

Every methodologically sound study of the program has found it to be
either ineffective or counterproductive. Minimizing substance abuse
requires strategies based on proven effectiveness, not feel-good
programs that please parents, educators and police. DARE should be
scrappedentirely. The scare tactics used do more harm than good.
Students whorealize they are being lied to about marijuana often make
the mistake ofassuming that harder drugs are relatively benign as
well. This is a recipefor disaster. DARE is part of the problem, not
the solution.

Robert Sharpe,
Washington, D.C.

The writer is a graduate student at George Washington University and a
member of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.