DARE MESSAGE FALLS ON DEAF EARS

GREEN BAY - I was greatly intrigued upon reading that a Brown County
officer was selected as Wisconsin's DARE Officer of the Year. Ironically,
this comes just days after the Press-Gazette's news partner, WFRV-TV,
reported that a new study shows DARE isn't as successful as previously thought.

The DARE program doesn't take into account that kids are just plain
curious. Someday they will expose themselves to people who use drugs or
have used drugs in the past. When adolescents get into trouble with drugs,
quite frankly, the DARE program won't be there for them because of the
misinformation presented.

At the high school level, students need to hear the pitfalls associated
with long-term drug addiction from former junkies - not some sugarcoated
"Drugs are bad," or "You shouldn't do drugs" type of message.

Matt LeBeau