TEACH TEENS TO 'JUST SAY KNOW' TO DRUGS

As the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program moves out of its
teenage years and turns 20, it's putting on a new face.

In response to a series of negative evaluations during the mid-1990s, the
popular program that started in Los Angeles in 1983 went to work to
reinvent itself. Recently, findings from the new DARE were released. In
this program, seventh-graders learn that using drugs is socially
inappropriate, not the norm, and dangerous. They are then taught how to
"just say no."

According to researchers, preliminary evaluations are "promising." I wish,
as the mother of a teenager, I could be more encouraged. Evaluations tell
us one thing -- that students can regurgitate information. Young people say
what they think adults want to hear -- specially about drugs. As with the
old DARE, exposure to the program has little to do with what teenagers
actually do when confronted with alcohol and other drugs in real life. DARE
didn't work to prevent drug use before, and it is highly unlikely that it
will work now. Not because it used cops in the classroom. Not because the
lessons weren't sustained. Not because its creators and supporters weren't
committed enough. DARE never stood a chance.

The notion that drug use is socially inappropriate in America today, and
not the norm, is ridiculous on its face. Despite proclamations about the
value of being "drug-free," Americans regularly imbibe and medicate with a
variety of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and
over-the-counter and prescription drugs. The Journal of the American
Medical Association reported that eight out of 10 adults in the U.S. used
at least one medication every week, and half took a prescription drug.
Nearly one in two American adults uses alcohol regularly. And more than
one-third have tried marijuana at some time in their lives -- a fact not
lost on their children. Today's teenagers have also witnessed the
increasing "Ritalinization" of their fellow students. As they watch
prime-time commercials for drugs to manage generalized anxiety disorder,
they see more of their parents turning to anti-depressants to cope.

Some psychologists argue that given the nature of our culture, teenage
experimentation with substances is normal. It doesn't mean they're bad kids
or we're bad parents, simply that we live in America, which is hardly
"drug-free." Our attempt to ensure abstinence by emphasizing the dangers of
drugs has backfired over and over again. Teenage, by definition, is a time
of exploration, experimentation, risk-taking and rebellion. Tell a teenage
boy that an activity, any activity, is risky, and he is likely to feel
challenged rather than deterred. Girls push the envelope, too, often
believing that negative implications are uncertain and so far in the future
as to be irrelevant.

In her book "Generation Risk," Corky Newton, a tobacco-industry executive,
quotes a teenage girl: "When you're a teenager, everybody is, like, 'Oh,
don't smoke, be smart.' You're just, like, 'What happens if I smoke? I'm
not going to die that second.' Pretty much everyone dies. If you develop
cancer, by that time you're already 65 and gross-looking anyway."

Finally, in desperation, our willingness to emphasize and inflate drugs'
dangers through prevention programs such as, but certainly not limited to,
DARE has produced skepticism. Young people have heard risk and danger
messages all their lives -- at home, in school, and on TV. They know adults
will say just about anything to convince them to abstain, and they believe
little of what we tell them about drugs. Indeed, a majority of American
teenagers dismisses our admonitions and experiments with illegal drugs by
the time they graduate from high school. A whopping eight out of 10 will
have used alcohol before their 18th birthday.

It's time we get real about teenage life in America and structure our drug
education programs accordingly. Whether we like it or not, alcohol and
marijuana are part of teenage culture. Telling them it just isn't so, when
they see it firsthand, is contributing to our credibility problem. Best to
acknowledge the reality and work within it than to deny its existence. Our
first job, as parents and educators, is to begin to dig ourselves out of
the deep credibility hole we have created out of our fears and our zeal to
prevent our teens from using alcohol and other drugs. There are plenty of
dangers associated with substance use. We don't need to invent or
exaggerate them. Students need honest, science-based, comprehensive drug
education. They should learn to "just say know" when it comes to any choice
involving their health. We ought to be equipping students with research
skills rather than simplistic resistance techniques. In the end, teenagers
will make their own decisions. Even the most vigilant parents can't keep
their kids under surveillance at all times.

The new DARE should follow the lead of modern sexuality education, urging
abstinence, while acknowledging the reality of teenage life and providing a
backup plan that provides sound information, respects young people's
intelligence and volition, and ensures their safety.