FIND ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

Houston Councilman Ray Driscoll showed political courage when he stood up
to Mayor Lee Brown and questioned the effectiveness of the $3.7 million
DARE anti-drug program. Fighting drug use has become sacrosanct and even
ineffective programs build a constituency. Follow the money. Since the DARE
program isn't working, perhaps a study could be made to see if kids better
resist drugs and delinquency when they receive religious training.

Ray M. Schneider, Cypress

No one doubts we need to do something to stop the spread of drugs in the
schools. However, using the money available to fund an ineffective program
is sheer lunacy.

When a teen-ager can stumble across kids smoking marijuana on school
premises, it must be time to try something else. How about using the $3.7
million for drug dogs? How about drug testing for adolescents and follow-up
counseling?

As the mother of a teen-ager who is in early recovery from drug addiction
who got her drugs at school, I'm all for doing something to stop the flow
of drugs into the schools.

The Aug. 31 Viewpoints suggestion that we should continue funding the DARE
program (Gil Gray, "Count the lives, not costs"), even when its
ineffectiveness has been proved, was appalling. The cost to help a few kids
at the expense of not helping thousands is too great.

Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting a different result? Let's get smart.

Kathy A. Hamilton, Houston

Anti-drug programs such as DARE fail because they only address the students.

We need programs that will also reach the parents -- especially those who
send mixed messages about drug (including alcohol) use.

Many parents who attended college between 1965 and 1980 experimented with
drugs, yet went on to lead "successful" lives.

Consequently, they have a hard time delivering a clear, unequivocal message
that drugs are bad.

We parents need to know that today's marijuana is not the same as it once
was -- it's much stronger and more likely to be laced with other
substances. We also need to take off our rose-colored glasses.

A truly effective antidrug program would help parents talk to their
children about drugs -- giving children the facts -- not glamorizing drug
usage.

A good program would also encourage parents to look objectively at their
own, current drug use.

Do we ever talk about "needing" a drink in the evening? Do we rush to
medicate?

It isn't easy to admit our mistakes to our children.

But if we parents are honest about how drug (including alcohol) use made us
feel -- hung over, unable to concentrate, isolated, sick -- the foolish
risks we ran and why we stopped, the message to our children would be
incredibly powerful.

We need anti-drug and alcohol programs which ensure that our children
receive the same message both at home and at school.

Barbara J. Garrity, Houston

Checked-by: Patrick Henry