A Lammersville fifth-grader shares a plea to keep Drug Abuse Resistance Education alive and well in Tracy schools.

My concern is that we need to be teaching D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) in elementary, middle and high school. I have two older siblings, and they talk to my parents about the things that teenagers do. There are always parties on the weekends, where there is alcohol and drugs, including marijuana and pill-popping.

My oldest sister, who is 19 and had D.A.R.E. education when she was in fifth grade, doesn't do drugs or drink at all, said that kids are starting to do a drug called meth. She told me that you can get addicted to it by using it only one time and that your teeth fall out, and you can go for three days without any sleep or food. My sister also told me that there are parties where the parents allow the alcohol and smoke marijuana with the kids.

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