PARENTS ARE BEST TOOL AGAINST CHILD DRUG USE

Lt. Julie Harmon and Sgt. Debbie Haynes (April 30 letter to the editor) ask
if Louisiana 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 D.A.R.E. 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 harder drugs 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 also have
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.

Robert Sharpe

Program officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.

Re: April 30 letter by Lt. Julie Harmon and Sgt. Debbie Haynes titled
'Rally to return funding to D.A.R.E. program.'

The writer fails to mention that studies done on D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education), including government studies, show the program is a
failure. Money used for D.A.R.E. should be applied toward programs that
work. That includes any program that does not use the services of the
police department, which allows police to attack real crime. Do the police
want to help kids stay off drugs or create a job market and job security?

Through the dictates of police, district attorneys, etc., America has an
unacceptable police state and prison complex, full of nonviolent drug and
cannabis plant users, that arguably waste our money, with negligible
results. This sequel to the original prohibition is an embarrassing part of
American history that must end. And we must realize the police, through
it's selfish addictions, want to continue and escalate this farce and
proven failure.

Parents are best tool against child drug use.

Stan White

Dillon, Co