ALCOHOL IS STILL THE NO. 1 DRUG PROBLEM

In their recent letter to the editor, Lt. Julie Harmon and Sgt. Debbie
Haynes ask if Gov. Mike Foster's decision to eliminate funding for the Drug
Abuse Resistance Education program is a step backward.

Good intentions are no substitute for effective drug 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 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.

The importance of parental involvement in reducing adolescent drug use
cannot be overstated. School-based extracurricular activities have also
been shown to reduce drug use by keeping 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 often associated with
violent behavior is often overlooked. 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.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.