DOUBTING DARE

To the editor: Time after time, scientific study after scientific study,
board review after board review, we learn that the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education programs are ineffective, faulty or counter-productive.

Time after time we see police officers standing up to state that in their
experience or in their opinion the "program is effective" or "useful" or
"well liked by students" even when faced with a mountain of evidence to the
contrary. We see school board members, parents and legislators continue year
after year ignore everything except their own personal opinions, and our
children suffer the consequences of this outrageous display ignorance.

DARE does not work, period! I could never trust an officer of the law who is
so skewed in his or her belief to examine the facts before judging the
effectiveness of a program.

Suppose there were a mountain of evidence that showed that the firearms
police were carrying were faulty, that they could kill children in
particular because of that fault, and then have the police turn and say, "We
never had a problem with it,...it works for us.., so the evidence is
irrelevant and if we kill a few kids in the process - so what we tried"

Would you trust an officer who ignores empirical evidence?

We do everyday. Officers say DARE works so they will ignore that facts and
eventually the consequences of their actions.

I can't think of a more serious violation of the public trust than to have
those we view as intelligent, fair and honorable, to close their eyes to the
facts and endanger our children by doing so.

"Anything" is not good enough, it has to work, it must be proven to work,
the future of our children depends on it.

There is no honor in deliberate ignorance, and given the amount and
availability of evidence against the DARE program, the ignorance is most
assuredly deliberate.

Jim White,

Oregon