DRUG PROGRAM SHOWS PROMISE

WASHINGTON -- An overhauled version of the much-maligned D.A.R.E. anti-drug
program shows promising results in early trials, researchers said,
suggesting that lessons once reserved for fifth-graders could be reborn
someday for other pupils. Researchers found that seventh-graders in six
cities who took part in the new curriculum were more likely to find using
drugs socially inappropriate than a control group, were better at refusing
drugs and had fewer misconceptions about how many of their peers use drugs.
They were also less likely to say they would use inhalants.

"It shows us that the program is doing what it intended to do, and in a
very significant way," said Zili Sloboda, an epidemiologist at the
University of Akron.

The results were being released today by the university.

Sloboda, who led the study, said it's too early to tell if the new program
will have significant impact on drug use but anticipated a follow-up
program in high school will help children stay off drugs just as pressure
to use them begins in earnest.

D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was created by police
officers in Los Angeles in 1983 to teach fifth-graders about the dangers of
drugs. The program has been implemented in 80 percent of school districts,
but over the past few years critics have said it doesn't work.

A study last August by the University of North Carolina found that several
top anti-drug programs, including the original version of D.A.R.E., were
either ineffective or hadn't been sufficiently tested.

Other researchers have found that illegal drug use among teenagers has
remained level or decreased over the past few years, partly because adults
are warning students about drug use and encouraging children to nurture
other interests.

Sloboda said the new program also will involve more lifelike situations and
help students confront peer pressure more effectively.