DAREING TO GO DRUG-FREE

It's hard to imagine a grade six graduation being a crucial stepping stone
for a child's future, but for some grade six students in Cochrane this
year, some of their grade six lessons could save them from the horrible
life that can be caused by drugs and alcohol.

Another group of students graduated this week from the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program from Cochrane schools, and what they learned
there could impact the rest of their lives.

"We try to catch them while they are still responsive to what we have to
tell them, and we hope they will never start," said RCMP liaision, Patty Neely.

Neely said the program focuses on the three "gateway" drugs - tobacco,
alcohol and marijuana, and includes a session on reducing violence. The
numbers are startling. Statistics in Canada are clear that it is important
to reach kids early. The average age for kids to first try these substances
is 10 years old for tobacco and alocohol, and 12 years old for marijuana.

Neely said by the time kids reach junior high, most have been offered all
three of the substances, often by an older sibling.

While the students are familiar with the three substances, much of what
they know, or think they know, is just plain wrong.

"The kids are surprised to find out how much fallacy there is mixed in with
the facts," Neely said.

"Our philosophy is that if they are aware and prepared, it's easier to say no."

The DARE program was created in inner-city Los Angeles in 1983 as a way to
reach out to kids at risk. In less than 20 years, the program has had a
reach into over 40 countries, stretching across 20 different languages.
Although the program can't make any guarantees, and not every kid who takes
the DARE program will avoid the "gateway" drugs, it is still a crucial
element in the future of a number of young lives.

"Basically these kids are in one of three groups," Neely said.

"We know there are kids who, no matter what they hear or learn, are going
to try drugs. And, there are kids who, no matter what happens, will never
try drugs," she said.

"The kids in the third group could go either way, and those are the ones we
are trying to reach."

The program consists of 17 sessions, and students must complete a workbook,
participate in class, and write an essay at the end of the course detailing
what they learned in the course.