Although the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is popular ("State D.A.R.E. officers gather in the Falls"), it is completely ineffective and sometimes even counterproductive. That's the conclusion of the GAO, the U.S. surgeon general, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education. Not surprisingly, the federal government now prohibits schools from spending federal funds on the failed program. However, there is good news. The social norms marketing technique has repeatedly proven effective in reducing the use and abuse of alcohol among young people. It's based on the fact that the vast majority of young people greatly exaggerate in their minds the quantity and frequency of drinking among their peers. Therefore, they tend to drink - or drink more - than they would otherwise, in an effort to "fit in." [continues 93 words]
Editor: The county's priority system worked especially well in eliminating funding for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education ("PET drives Marathon Co. budget"). Although popular, the DARE program has consistently failed to prove effective. A very low-cost alternative, the social norms marketing technique, has repeatedly been found effective in reducing both the consumption and the abuse of alcohol. Most students incorrectly believe that more of their peers consume and abuse alcohol than is the actual case. Therefore, they tend to conform in order to "fit in." When a credible survey of a student body is conducted and then the surprising results widely promoted, student drinking drops dramatically as they discover the truth. The technique is easy and inexpensive to implement and the effects occur quickly. There is no justification for using unproven techniques when a successful alternative is available. Our young people deserve nothing less. Chapel Hill, NC [end]
Two young college women present phony identification cards and try to order alcoholic drinks at an off-campus restaurant. When police are called to the establishment, they question the students and cite them for under-age drinking offenses. The event -- with no accidents, deaths, or riots -- appears unremarkable. But it makes national news because the young women are Jenna and Barbara Bush, the president's daughters. Compare that "newsworthy" item to other under-age drinking stories. Every college term, we hear accounts of students who risk acute alcohol poisoning during rituals like "21 for 21" -- when, on their 21st birthdays, they down a shot of liquor for every year of their lives. In dormitory rooms and off-campus apartments, students who feel depressed hole up with bottles of alcohol, start to chug, and are lucky if their supposed cure brings nothing more than headaches and heaves. Underclassmen attend alcohol parties tied to the Big Game, drink themselves insensible, and fall to their death off balconies. It's all been in the newspapers and other media, this shocking waste of promising young lives. [continues 897 words]
