D.A.R.E. doesn't work, study finds
Students in program used same amount of drugs as others
By Jim Avila, NBC News Correspondent
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 18, 1998-- The D.A.R.E. anti-drug program
may be a good idea gone bad. A new study concludes that the program
is not working and, in fact, may actually be hurting drug-abuse
prevention efforts in some communities. The six-year study followed
1,800 Illinois kids from fifth grade through high school. FOR MORE
THAN 23 million children 80 percent of America's schools the
nation's antidrug mantra is I pledge to lead a drug-free life. That
pledge comes from a program called D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug
Abuse Resistance Education.
At McDougle Elementary School, in the Carrboro School district of
Chapel Hill, N.C., D.A.R.E. is one of the favorite subjects among
fifth-graders.
Though popular, Chapel Hill is thinking about dropping the class.
The body of research about D.A.R.E. says that it has no long-term
effect for drug-abuse prevention, said Susan Spalt, the health
director for the Carrboro School District.In the most comprehensive
study yet on D.A.R.E., researchers followed 1,800 students using
techniques endorsed by D.A.R.E. itself. Its author concluded that
D.A.R.E. is a a waste of money $220 million in tax money and
donations last year alone with no beneficial effect on drug use.
It hurts me to sit here and tell you that D.A.R.E. does not work,
said Dennis Rosenbaum, the author and head of the Criminal Justice
Department at the University of Illinois. But it's time for us to go
back to the drawing board and figure out how it can be improved or
what better ways we can spend our money on drug education in this
country.
Rosenbaum's six-year study finds that kids in the D.A.R.E. program
used the same amount of drugs as others. Perhaps the researchers
most surprising conclusion: D.A.R.E. actually appears to have an
adverse effect on drug activity in suburban communities.
Kids in the suburbs who were exposed to the D.A.R.E. program, who
participated in D.A.R.E., actually had significantly higher levels
of drug use than suburban kids who did not get the D.A.R.E. program,
said Rosenbaum. This was very disturbing to us.
It's a mystery the researchers say requires further study.
Bill Alden, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement agent and spokesman for
D.A.R.E., calls the study outrageous. NBC News provided him with a
copy and asked him about its findings.
I don t have an answer, he said.
For its part, D.A.R.E. embraces one study from Ohio State University
that says the program does work, if students are given additional
anti-drug classes through high school. But an overwhelming majority
of students do not take such classes and a dozen other studies have
flatly concluded that D.A.R.E. does not deliver on its promise to
teach kids to resist drugs.
D.A.R.E. officials are pushing to add more programs in junior high
and high schools.
It's not that D.A.R.E. doesn't work, said Bill Alden, deputy
director of D.A.R.E. America. D.A.R.E. does work. But it dissipates.
It erodes. What has to happen ... there has to be more, not less.
Alden said D.A.R.E. is a popular program. We've got thousands and
thousands of principals, he said. Millions of parents say, D.A.R.E.
made a difference in my child's life.
But the two key federal agencies evaluating drug abuse programs do
not recommend D.A.R.E. on their lists of acceptable programs,
leaving school districts like Chapel Hill with a difficult choice.
Students in program used same amount of drugs as others
By Jim Avila, NBC News Correspondent
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 18, 1998-- The D.A.R.E. anti-drug program
may be a good idea gone bad. A new study concludes that the program
is not working and, in fact, may actually be hurting drug-abuse
prevention efforts in some communities. The six-year study followed
1,800 Illinois kids from fifth grade through high school. FOR MORE
THAN 23 million children 80 percent of America's schools the
nation's antidrug mantra is I pledge to lead a drug-free life. That
pledge comes from a program called D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug
Abuse Resistance Education.
At McDougle Elementary School, in the Carrboro School district of
Chapel Hill, N.C., D.A.R.E. is one of the favorite subjects among
fifth-graders.
Though popular, Chapel Hill is thinking about dropping the class.
The body of research about D.A.R.E. says that it has no long-term
effect for drug-abuse prevention, said Susan Spalt, the health
director for the Carrboro School District.In the most comprehensive
study yet on D.A.R.E., researchers followed 1,800 students using
techniques endorsed by D.A.R.E. itself. Its author concluded that
D.A.R.E. is a a waste of money $220 million in tax money and
donations last year alone with no beneficial effect on drug use.
It hurts me to sit here and tell you that D.A.R.E. does not work,
said Dennis Rosenbaum, the author and head of the Criminal Justice
Department at the University of Illinois. But it's time for us to go
back to the drawing board and figure out how it can be improved or
what better ways we can spend our money on drug education in this
country.
Rosenbaum's six-year study finds that kids in the D.A.R.E. program
used the same amount of drugs as others. Perhaps the researchers
most surprising conclusion: D.A.R.E. actually appears to have an
adverse effect on drug activity in suburban communities.
Kids in the suburbs who were exposed to the D.A.R.E. program, who
participated in D.A.R.E., actually had significantly higher levels
of drug use than suburban kids who did not get the D.A.R.E. program,
said Rosenbaum. This was very disturbing to us.
It's a mystery the researchers say requires further study.
Bill Alden, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement agent and spokesman for
D.A.R.E., calls the study outrageous. NBC News provided him with a
copy and asked him about its findings.
I don t have an answer, he said.
For its part, D.A.R.E. embraces one study from Ohio State University
that says the program does work, if students are given additional
anti-drug classes through high school. But an overwhelming majority
of students do not take such classes and a dozen other studies have
flatly concluded that D.A.R.E. does not deliver on its promise to
teach kids to resist drugs.
D.A.R.E. officials are pushing to add more programs in junior high
and high schools.
It's not that D.A.R.E. doesn't work, said Bill Alden, deputy
director of D.A.R.E. America. D.A.R.E. does work. But it dissipates.
It erodes. What has to happen ... there has to be more, not less.
Alden said D.A.R.E. is a popular program. We've got thousands and
thousands of principals, he said. Millions of parents say, D.A.R.E.
made a difference in my child's life.
But the two key federal agencies evaluating drug abuse programs do
not recommend D.A.R.E. on their lists of acceptable programs,
leaving school districts like Chapel Hill with a difficult choice.
