SCARE TACTICS FAIL

Anthony N. Iazzo's Aug. 23 "It's My Turn" offered 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 recreational 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 every year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be
legal, but it's still the No. 1 drug problem.

For decades drug education has been dominated by sensationalist programs
like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. Good intentions are no
substitute for effective education. Every independent, methodologically
sound evaluation of DARE has 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, M.P.A.
Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance
Washington, D.C.