YOUTH DRUG USE IS GRAVE CONCERN

Garnett Genuis's Dec. 4 column contained excellent advice on preventing
adolescent drug use.

The importance of parental involvement in reducing 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 prone to
getting into trouble.

In order for drug education to be effective it has to be credible. 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 number one drug problem.

For decades drug, education has been dominated by sensationalist programs
like Drug Abuse Resistance Education. While Canadian schools are just
beginning to implement DARE, schools in the U.S. 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 that harder drugs like heroin are relatively harmless
as well. 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, Program officer

Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.