Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 Source: Athens News, The (OH) Copyright: 2005, Athens News Contact: http://www.athensnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603 Author: Robert Sharpe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) IF YOU WANT TO KEEP KIDS OFF OF DRUGS, DARE ISN'T THE BEST WAY Alexander School Board chair David Kasler's support for Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) is misguided. Good intentions are no substitute for effective anti-drug education. Every independent, methodologically sound evaluation of DARE has found the program to be ineffective or counterproductive. The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students who realize they've been lied to about marijuana often make the mistake of assuming that harder drugs like methamphetamine are relatively harmless as well. This is a recipe for disaster. Drug education programs must be reality-based or they may backfire when kids are inevitably exposed to drug use among their peers. The importance of parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be overstated. School-based extracurricular activities have also been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely to get into trouble. In order for drug education to be effective, it has to be credible. The most popular recreational drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior is often overlooked. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives each year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the number one drug problem. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org Washington, DC 20012 - --- MAP posted-by: Beth