NUMBERS SHOW NEED FOR D.A.R.E. INTERVENTION

Fighting Drugs: Second Of Two Parts

Pop quiz:

What is drug abuse?

What is the legal age for purchasing and possessing tobacco products in
Maryland?

D.A.R.E. is short for what four words?

Spencer, a sixth grader at Cherry Hill Middle School, almost received a
perfect score on his 25-question multiple choice D.A.R.E. pretest.

The only answer he didn't know was the words that form the program's
acronym - it's Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Cpl. Scott Adams of the
Cecil County Sheriff's Office later clued in Spencer and his classmates
that it's written on the front of their D.A.R.E. books.

The pretest is given to all D.A.R.E. students before they receive any
instruction. They take the same exam, renamed the post-test, after three
weeks of tutelage under Adams.

On the post-test, Spencer and students Jason and Josh fared better - they
received perfect scores.

Overall, the sixth-graders' scores averaged 67 percent on the pretest. That
grade went up to 87 percent after the children participated in their
"D.A.R.E. cycle" - a period from Feb. 11 to March 4 during which they spent
about four hours per week under the guidance of Adams.

Most Cecil D.A.R.E. students show the same learning curve, Adams said.

Adams engaged the students in workbook drills, hands-on activities and
discussions, not only to raise the test average, but to help combat the
drug and violence problem affecting today's youth.

However, instead of just discussing what drugs do, he spent a majority of
his time assuring the students that self-esteem, confidence and goals are
the keys to a successful, drug-free future.

The final product

"This program is good," sixth-grader Joel said. "It teaches you about drugs
. . . . but also the consequences of drugs. When I say consequences, I mean
bad ones."

Joel's opinion is shared by all of his classmates in their D.A.R.E. essays.
The paper is a requirement to "graduate" from the D.A.R.E. program, as well
as a graded assignment for health class.

All of the kids complete their essays on time, and three students make
posters for Adams, too.

"I would have never used drugs, and now that I have learned how dangerous
it can be, the thought of trying them won't even enter my mind," said
Spencer, who won a medallion for the best D.A.R.E. work at Cherry Hill
Middle this past month. "I know many people who smoke or used to smoke; my
grandmother died from it.

"I will never use drugs, and I hope no one else who has had D.A.R.E. will
either."

His classmate Kari agreed.

"I will be pressured, but I know many ways to say no," she said. "I have
also learned that even when others do things you should do what you know in
your mind is right and less harmful to you and others.

"I have used drugs before, you have too, like flu medication, aspirin or
any medication, but I promise not to abuse drugs."

Another plus to D.A.R.E. is that students interact with law enforcement in
a positive atmosphere, Adams said.

"They get to see police on a different level, not just stopping somebody
and giving a ticket," he said.

The students were interested in finding out if Adams carried a gun, knife
or pepper spray, and at both the beginning and end of the D.A.R.E. unit
they asked if he had ever shot somebody or apprehended a criminal. He
explained to the children that his job was not to use weapons, but to
protect people's safety.

The trust and rapport between teacher and student was evident in the
essays, too - some children added a personal touch.

"Dear Deputy Scott," sixth-grader Alycia read aloud. "I want to take this
time to thank you for teaching us about D.A.R.E.

"I don't want to hurt my family or ruin my education," she added. "Drugs
and violence only kill and damage your body."

The numbers

Although each sixth-grader since 1991 has made the same promises as this
year's D.A.R.E students, many children choose to use drugs, according to
the Maryland Adolescent Survey.

Every two years, some of Maryland's sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th graders
are surveyed to determine the nature, extent and trend of substance use. It
is self-reported and has a margin of error, Adams said, but it is the only
way to measure drug activity.

In 2001, the numbers were down slightly.

The three "gateway drugs" - tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, continually
have the highest use among students, and those numbers rise as children
approach 12th grade.

For example, cigarette use in 2001 saw levels of 5.7 percent in sixth
grade, 15.8 percent in eighth grade, 22.6 percent in 10th and 28.1 percent
in 12th grade. All of those numbers are down since 1994.

In 2001, 9.1 percent of sixth-graders, 29.2 percent of eighth-graders, 41.6
percent of 10th-graders and 54.5 percent of 12th-graders used some form of
alcohol. Overall, those numbers are down since 1994 as well. The number
drops further when students are asked if they consumed five or more
servings of alcohol on the same occasion.

About 2.7 percent of sixth-graders have used marijuana. That number
increases to 13.8 percent in eighth grade, 24.3 percent in 10th grade and
28 percent in 12th grade. There was a rise in use amongst sixth- and
eighth-graders since 1992, but figures for 10th- and 12th-graders indicate
about a 2 percent drop.

Survey participants said about 5 percent or less had tried other drugs,
such as cocaine, heroin and steroids.

The biggest jump was for Cecil's 12th-graders who used designer drugs, such
as ecstasy. In 1998, only 0.8 reported use, while 10.5 percent admitted use
in 2001.

Heroin use also fell among eighth-graders, from 4.8 percent in 1998 to 0.9
in 2001.

Nationwide, critics have condemned the D.A.R.E. program, saying it is
ineffective at keeping children drug-free.

And, while Adams admits no anti-drug curriculum will totally end drug abuse
and violence, he said critics use unreliable statistics. Adams added that
local law enforcement officers and kids believe it is working in Cecil County.

"The people that say it won't work are looking for a program to totally
solve the drug problem," he said. "When people decide not to use drugs,
then the supply will go away.

"I think that drug education has to start as soon as they're old enough to
know what a drug is, and then continue throughout their schooling years."

Last words

Cherry Hill Middle School student Jessica summed up Adams' take on the
program in her final essay. In addition to rattling off definitions, facts
and statistics, she captured his focus on goals and consequences and put
them into her own words.

"That is not the life I want to have or the person I want to be," she said.
"If you don't believe in yourself, you're never going to go anywhere."

Adams said he saves every D.A.R.E. essay, and told the children that he is
holding them to their written promises.

"If I should ever have to arrest you down the road, I'll be pulling your
D.A.R.E. essay out and tell you to read it," Adams tells the students after
he hands them their graduation certificates. "It's easy to write an essay.
Make it more than that."