DARE PROGRAM IS WASTE OF MONEY

The Ohio House of Representatives recently indicated it knows the DARE
Program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is ineffective and not
worthy of the $3 million of Ohio taxpayers' dollars the state had been
budgeting. Members of the Ohio senate looking to cut waste in
government should also get to know these facts about DARE.:

* In the 20 years since DARE began, studies have consistently shown
that DARE has no significant effect on students' use of drugs.

* The General Accounting Office of the U.S. Government found a "no
significant differences in illicit drug use between students who
received DARE ... and students who did not."

* Estimated costs of DARE annually: $1 to $1.3 billion.

* In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General placed DARE under the category of
"Ineffective Programs."

* The National Academy of Sciences has called DARE
ineffective.

* The U.S. Department of Education prohibited schools from spending
its Safe and Drug-Free Schools' money on DARE because they did not
consider it effective in reducing drug use. The money the state has
been wasting on DARE could be more effectively employed on drug court
treatment programs that are sorely short of funds.

Edward J. Orlett

Drug Policy Alliance

Columbus