ALCOHOL TAKES MORE LIVES THAN ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS COMBINED, SAYS READER

To the Editor,

Regarding Susan Hundertmark's Nov. 24th op-ed, the importance of
parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be overstated.

School-based extracurricular activities also have been shown to reduce
use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely to get
into trouble.

In order for drug prevention efforts to reduce harm, they must be
reality - based. The most popular drug and the one most closely
associated with violent behavior is often overlooked by parents. That
drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives each year than all
illegal drugs combined.

Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the No. 1 drug
problem.

For decades, school-based drug prevention efforts have been dominated
by sensationalist programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

Good intentions are no substitute for effective drug education.
Independent evaluations of D.A.R.E. have found the program to be
either ineffective or counterproductive.

The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students who realize
they've been lied to about marijuana often make the mistake of
assuming that harder drugs like methamphetamine are relatively
harmless as well. This is a recipe for disaster.

Drug prevention programs must be reality-based or they may backfire
when kids are inevitably exposed to drug use among their peers.

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.csdp.org

Washington, DC