DARE, which is in most Montgomery County elementary schools, consists of
police officers giving structured presentations over 17 weeks to
fifth-graders, who make anti-drug posters and write anti-drug poems
("Michael smoked pot / Now he's not so hot") and receive T-shirts and bumper
stickers.
It is probably the most popular and widespread anti-drug program in the
country, but it has been criticized for not demonstrating any real effects
in terms of diminishing drug use among high school students.
Dear Homeroom:
My daughter recently completed DARE in Montgomery County. I was concerned
about the program, discussed it at great length with the school counselor
and concluded that while it was a waste of time, it was not contrary to what
my wife and I teach at home.

If you go to the official DARE Web site, it cites all sorts of
"studies" supporting the program.

But if you then read the studies, for the most part they conclude that
the students liked the program and feel good about it.
Whoop-de-do!

John E. Cornell,
Gaithersburg