NO SCARE TACTICS

To the Editor:

Tuscumbia educators need to consider that good intentions are no substitute
for effective anti-drug education. Every independent, methodologically
sound evaluation of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has found
it to be either ineffective or counterproductive.

The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students who realize they
are being 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. Minimizing drug
use requires strategies based on proven effectiveness, not "feel good"
programs that please parents, educators and police.

Robert Sharpe, MPA, program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington