Drugs: Dare to be Honest
February 29, 2000
Editorial & Opinions
Source: Detroit News
detnews.com/
www.cannabisnews.com/news...4903.shtml
A two-part series by The Detroit News reported that DARE, the
multibillion-dollar, nationwide drug prevention program, is making no
difference in lowering teenage drug or alcohol use in Metro Detroit . It may
even be making matters worse. These findings confirm at least a dozen
previous national studies.
It may be time for schools to return responsibility for the matter to
families where it properly belongs.
The News investigation, based on surveys by Western Michigan University of
eighth, 10th and 12th graders in Metro Detroit every two years, found that
kids who have undergone the program are just as likely to use drugs as those
who have not. Although some schools in recent years have dropped DARE, which
stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the program is still offered in
70 of the 88 area districts. Yet, according to The News, 60 percent of
Detroit area seniors admit to trying drugs, compared with 55 percent
nationally.
Despite mounting evidence about DAREs ineffectiveness, the program, in
which uniformed police officers teach fifth and sixth graders how to resist
peer pressure, remains hugely popular. Indeed, the federal government alone
spends $2 billion annually on the program with local grants, local fund
raisers and donations pouring in millions more. More than $2 million is
spent on the program in Metro Detroit.
Although DARE has used this money to preach drug abstinence for a quarter of
a century, drug use in America has gone up in recent years: A University of
Michigan study two years ago found that marijuana use among eighth graders
tripled between 1991 to 1996. Similarly, other studies have found a slight
increase in drug use among suburban kids who have taken DARE.
It is difficult to definitively link this increase with DARE. But the
program relies on scare scenarios and blanket proscription to drive home the
danger of drug use. Yet, researchers speculate, when children discover these
exaggerations, they abandon all caution, creating a boomerang effect.
Whatever the cause of the observed increase, it is clear that the program
does not provide a life-time inoculation against drug abuse. Some of DAREs
critics suggest replacing the program with its message of zero tolerance
with others that emphasize how to deal with the consequences of drug use,
such as an overdose. This sounds realistic, but may have the perverse effect
of encouraging drug use by discussing ways to make it safe.
Drug and alcohol use is a complicated matter that simply is not amenable to
a full and nuanced exploration in the classroom. It may be time to bring
parents and families back into the equation and encourage them to design
their own specific message for their own kids: Lulling them into a false
sense of security with feel-good programs is a disservice to all.
Our view:
Mounting evidence that DARE, the drug-abuse prevention program, is
ineffective ought to cause area schools to rethink their commitment to it.
Opposing view:
DARE is widely popular anti-drug school program that ought to be continued.
E-mail us at letters@detnews.com
Published: February 29, 2000
Copyright 2000, The Detroit News
Related Articles:
DAREs Clout Smothers Other Drug Programs
www.cannabisnews.com/news...4888.shtml
Raves Thrive as Teen Drug Havens
pub3.ezboard.com/fdrugpol...ID=2.topic
February 29, 2000
Editorial & Opinions
Source: Detroit News
detnews.com/
www.cannabisnews.com/news...4903.shtml
A two-part series by The Detroit News reported that DARE, the
multibillion-dollar, nationwide drug prevention program, is making no
difference in lowering teenage drug or alcohol use in Metro Detroit . It may
even be making matters worse. These findings confirm at least a dozen
previous national studies.
It may be time for schools to return responsibility for the matter to
families where it properly belongs.
The News investigation, based on surveys by Western Michigan University of
eighth, 10th and 12th graders in Metro Detroit every two years, found that
kids who have undergone the program are just as likely to use drugs as those
who have not. Although some schools in recent years have dropped DARE, which
stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the program is still offered in
70 of the 88 area districts. Yet, according to The News, 60 percent of
Detroit area seniors admit to trying drugs, compared with 55 percent
nationally.
Despite mounting evidence about DAREs ineffectiveness, the program, in
which uniformed police officers teach fifth and sixth graders how to resist
peer pressure, remains hugely popular. Indeed, the federal government alone
spends $2 billion annually on the program with local grants, local fund
raisers and donations pouring in millions more. More than $2 million is
spent on the program in Metro Detroit.
Although DARE has used this money to preach drug abstinence for a quarter of
a century, drug use in America has gone up in recent years: A University of
Michigan study two years ago found that marijuana use among eighth graders
tripled between 1991 to 1996. Similarly, other studies have found a slight
increase in drug use among suburban kids who have taken DARE.
It is difficult to definitively link this increase with DARE. But the
program relies on scare scenarios and blanket proscription to drive home the
danger of drug use. Yet, researchers speculate, when children discover these
exaggerations, they abandon all caution, creating a boomerang effect.
Whatever the cause of the observed increase, it is clear that the program
does not provide a life-time inoculation against drug abuse. Some of DAREs
critics suggest replacing the program with its message of zero tolerance
with others that emphasize how to deal with the consequences of drug use,
such as an overdose. This sounds realistic, but may have the perverse effect
of encouraging drug use by discussing ways to make it safe.
Drug and alcohol use is a complicated matter that simply is not amenable to
a full and nuanced exploration in the classroom. It may be time to bring
parents and families back into the equation and encourage them to design
their own specific message for their own kids: Lulling them into a false
sense of security with feel-good programs is a disservice to all.
Our view:
Mounting evidence that DARE, the drug-abuse prevention program, is
ineffective ought to cause area schools to rethink their commitment to it.
Opposing view:
DARE is widely popular anti-drug school program that ought to be continued.
E-mail us at letters@detnews.com
Published: February 29, 2000
Copyright 2000, The Detroit News
Related Articles:
DAREs Clout Smothers Other Drug Programs
www.cannabisnews.com/news...4888.shtml
Raves Thrive as Teen Drug Havens
pub3.ezboard.com/fdrugpol...ID=2.topic
