RHODE ISLAND READER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DARE

To the editor:

The goals of the D.A.R.E. program are admirable - nobody wants our youth
doing drugs. However, good intentions are no substitute for real drug
education.

The D.A.R.E. program uses scare tactics to influence children not to try drugs.

Some students who realize that they've been lied to by their D.A.R.E.
officers about marijuana often make the mistake of assuming that harder
drugs like cocaine and heroin are relatively harmless as well.

If we truly want to keep our kids safe, we must provide them with honest,
accurate and reality-based drug education. Programs like D.A.R.E. that
intend to scare our children out of using drugs will do nothing but cause
more harm than they could ever prevent.

Thomas Angell

President, University of Rhode Island Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Warwick, R.I.