Pubdate: Wed, 26 Mar 2008
Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 The Sault Star
Contact:  http://www.saultstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1071
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n301/a02.html

DRUG EDUCATION MUST BE REALITY BASED

Regarding Steve Bodnar's Mar. 20 op-ed, the importance of parental 
involvement in reducing adolescent drug use cannot be overstated. 
School-based extracurricular activities also have been shown to 
reduce use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely 
to get into trouble. In order for drug prevention efforts to 
effectively reduce harm, they must be reality-based. The most popular 
drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior is 
often overlooked by parents. 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 No. 1 drug problem.

For decades, school-based drug prevention efforts have been dominated 
by sensationalist programs like Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Good 
intentions are no substitute for effective drug education. 
Independent evaluations of DARE have found the program to be either 
ineffective or counterproductive. The scare tactics used do more harm 
than good. Students who realize they've been lied to about marijuana 
may 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.

Robert Sharpe,

Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, DC
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom