DARE UNDER SCRUTINY

Hannah Allaben, a 12-year-old student at the Fort River School, read a poem
at Amherst Town Meeting last week about her experience in the DARE program.
She said, "It's quite a wonderful program,/ but I'm not saying it'll work
for all./It may not stop me from taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. ..."

It would be hard to come up with a better summary of the contradictory
issues the Amherst School Committee will take on when it reviews the drug
education and awareness program.

Last week, Town Meeting voted against canceling the program, and agreed the
subject is more appropriate for the School Committee. Members of that
committee said they plan to evaluate the program and hold public forums to
discuss it. A research analyst recently hired by the school department to
study student drug use may also be involved.

This approach makes sense, though it also has risks. DARE has become a
fixture in more than 90 percent of Massachusetts school districts, but
increasingly people are asking whether its effectiveness merits its
widespread popularity.

There appears to be agreement that DARE establishes good relations between
kids and police. Local officers who have brought the program into area
schools have become positive role models and have made lasting connections
with students. The DARE summer day camp in Amherst has likewise created
strong links between officers and teen-agers.

Though police have never claimed DARE will keep all kids away from drugs,
the program's effectiveness in drug use prevention is under scrutiny.
Studies have shown that DARE programs can improve students' self-esteem and
attitudes toward police, but generally fail to yield long-term reduction in
drug use. Student questionnaires have indicated that the anti-drug attitudes
of DARE participants faded with time.

Last week, Burlington, Vt. became the first New England city to drop the
program. Across the nation, other cities have taken that step, including
Omaha, Seattle, and Houston. In discussing Burlington's decision, Police
Chief Elana Ennis praised the officers, but said the program needs to be
updated. She recommended considering different approaches, such as including
recovering addicts as classroom speakers who can talk to students about
their own experiences. She also said the program's across the board emphasis
on abstinence should be reconsidered.

This won't be an easy subject for Amherst's school committee. The subject is
certain to produce emotional arguments and dueling studies, but whatever the
outcome, the effort is worthwhile. Ultimately, any program benefits from
community scrutiny and suffers from uncritical loyalty. The process in
Amherst may either strengthen the program already in place, or lead to more
effective alternatives.

Either way, the anti-drug argument must be heard. In the face of pro-drug
messages from the beverage and entertainment industries, from groups like
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, (NORML,) and
even sometimes from adults at home, it should come as no surprise that
students tend to lose their ability to resist drugs.