STUDENTS UNITED AGAINST DRUGS

With the help of the local RCMP grade five students at Oyama Traditional
School have drawn a line in the sand against drinking and drugs. For the
past several weeks students at the school have been learning how to use
the D.A.R.E. decision making model to say 'no' to illegal substances.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum (drug abuse resistance education) gets students
talking about alcohol, marijuana and inhalants. It also discusses peer
pressure and the role that it can play in leading a person towards making
unhealthy or risky personal decisions.

In class the kids are put into role-playing scenarios and taught how to
deal with peer pressure. The idea is that if the kids find themselves in a
similar situation in real life, they will know what to do to get out of
it.

Cst. Elsa Wellwood is the officer who taught the program at Oyama
Traditional. She says the students are always enthusiastic to learn
D.A.R.E.

"I think a big part of it is the opportunity for a positive contact
between the kids and the police," says Wellwood. "It gives them a chance
to ask questions and get some good information."

Measuring the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. is difficult because there are so
many variable factors that come into play when individuals make decisions
regarding drinking and drugs. Wellwood subscribes to the maxim that if the
facts that are taught through D.A.R.E. touch just one person in the class
then her effort has been worthwhile. She goes on to say that there have
been many cases where people have cited the information presented in
D.A.R.E. as the sole reason for making healthy decisions relating to
drinking or drugs.

One benefit that Wellwood sees in teaching the program to an entire group
of peers is that it builds trust and confidence amongst them and that in
itself will help to reinforce the fact that it is okay to say 'no' to
risky behavior.

Wellwood says the discussion about alcohol and drugs is something that
parents should take up with their children as well.

"The message is stronger if it comes from multiple angles," says Wellwood.

"We present it at school but the support of parents is really important too."

Talking about alcohol and drugs can be unsettling for some parents.
Wellwood says many people simply don't know where to begin. Graduates of
D.A.R.E. are given informative pamphlets that cover the topics of the
curriculum.

Wellwood says parents can use these leaflets as a way to start the
conversation with their sons and daughters.

D.A.R.E. was first developed in Los Angeles in 1983 by a police officer
that was the father of a son with a drug problem. Since that time it has
spread to 43 countries around the world.

Due to financial constraints this is the last year D.A.R.E. will be taught
in School District 23 but Wellwood says the RCMP are committed to finding
a way to replace it with a similar education program for students.