DARE DOESN'T WORK

Editor:

The importance of parental involvement in reducing adolescent drug use
cannot be overstated.

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

Unfortunately, the most popular recreational drug and the one most closely
associated with violent behavior is often overlooked by parents. That drug
is alcohol and it takes more lives each year than all illegal drugs
combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the number one drug problem.

For decades, drug education has been dominated by sensationalist programs
such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education. While Canadian schools are just
beginning to implement DARE, American schools are dropping it.

Independent evaluations of DARE 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 harder drugs, such as heroin, are relatively harmless,
too. This is a recipe for disaster.

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

Robert Sharpe, MPA Program officer, Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C.