WRITER DESCRIBES SOME SHORTFALLS IN POPULAR DRUG AWARENESS PROGRAM

Dick Easton, Fort Saskatchewan

I note, with dismay, a recent plaintive call for financial support from
Strathcona County reeves for the DARE program. There seems to be a hope
that fear and superstition will win out over rational thought.

DARE is a commercial for profit program designed for the population of a
large American urban area. It is generally regarded by professionals as
being, at best, problematic.

"One school-based universal prevention program meets the criteria for Does
Not Work: Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE.

DARE is the most widely implemented youth drug prevention program in the
United States. It receives substantial support from parents, teachers,
police and government funding agencies, and its popularity persists despite
numerous well-designed evaluations and meta-analyses that consistently show
little or no deterrent effects on substance use.

Overall, evidence on the effects of the traditional DARE curriculum, which
is implemented in grades 5 and 6, shows that children who participate are
as likely to use drugs as those who do not participate.

However, some positive effects have been demonstrated regarding attitudes
toward police.

"Youth Violence: A Report of The United States Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter5/ Why then is
the program so popular?

Politicians like it because it gives the appearance of real action without
spending much money.

Police like it because it improves their community profile. DARE is
operated by local police forces.

Parents like it because it places the responsibility for drug education on
somebody else's shoulders.

No fuss, no mess, and no accountability. These are our kids. Are we not
compelled to do our homework and to make certain the programs we fund in
our schools are adequate and effective.

In the end there is probably not a serious drug problem in Strathcona
County. I have sent two kids through the Elk Island school system from K-12
and have examined the curricula with a professional eye.

There is, in that system, no need for a DARE type program. The issues are
dealt with in normal classroom activities, in Health, in Science, in Career
and Life Management, in English and in Social Studies, Most kids leave such
an effective well run school system as immune from drug abuse as is possible.

I challenge the parents of our kids to do their homework, read about DARE,
talk to AADAC and like reputable organizations, and make your own choices.
In the end I will bet they too will suggest we put the cops back on the
street where they belong, and use the money we save to buy some basketballs.