DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 119 August 12, 1999 Chicago Tribune: Zero tolerance for DARE TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT *PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE* DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 119 August 12, 1999 Yet another study finding the DARE program useless was published last week (see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n797.a09.html). Predictably, the press offered sporadic coverage and DARE officials sobbed about the dark forces working against them. Studies indicating the failure of DARE to have any long term impact on drug use are common now. Perhaps that's why relatively few newspapers reported the latest results. The study apparently did make a deep impression at the Chicago Tribune, though. Trib editorialists called for the end of DARE. No equivocations about improving it, no acknowledgement of any positive benefits, just an outright condemnation. As the editorial states: "What a waste!" Please write a letter to the Tribune to thank the newspaper for its keen insight. You might also want to mention that the failure of DARE to achieve its stated goal is a good reason to remove the program from classrooms, but it is far from the only reason. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Contact: Pubdate: Aug 11, 1999 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Contact: Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/ Copyright: 1999 Chicago Tribune Comany IT'S TIME TO SHOW D.A.R.E. THE DOOR Year after year, about 80 percent of the elementary school districts in the country allocate resources and classroom time for a curriculum that simply doesn't work, and few of them seem to care. A recent study at the University of Kentucky is only the latest in an impressive body of research showing that D.A.R.E., a popular anti-drug program, does virtually nothing to keep kids off drugs. Yet thousands of schools each year put their pupils--some as early as first grade--through it. D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is taught by local police officers, who go into the schools to give kids information about drugs, tobacco and alcohol abuse and, in theory, to help them develop the skills necessary to resist peer pressure to experiment with those substances. The program, which includes lessons on self-esteem, assertiveness and stress management, uses everything from free T-shirts to "graduation" certificates to a trendy Web site in order to appeal to youngsters. And if success were measured in the number of T-shirts given away or certificates handed out, D.A.R.E. would indeed be successful. But it's not. The Kentucky study, published this month in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, found that kids from the D.A.R.E. program used drugs in high school at about the same rate as their peers. An earlier study by the University of Illinois at Chicago had come to the same conclusion. Why don't schools show D.A.R.E. the door? Maybe because it isn't costing them much--funding comes from local sources and from federal grants--and it makes teachers and administrators feel they're doing something to address a very real problem. What a waste! There's got to be a better way to educate young people about the hazards of substance abuse, but as long as a high-profile pseudo-solution is available, there's little incentive to find out what might really work. And that's the sad part--especially for the kids this program ought to be helping. SAMPLE LETTER (sent) Editors: Congratulations on taking a stand against D.A.R.E., the police P.R. tool that masquerades as a drug education program in classrooms nationwide. I recently moved to California from Rochester NY, where I grew up, and where I was compelled to take part in the D.A.R.E. program in elementary school. I can assure you that D.A.R.E. is everything its critics make it out to be-- a simplistic propaganda program that's supposed to "scare kids straight", but which in reality just insults the intelligence of the children it targets. Fortunately for my high-school-aged brother, Rochester schools have since dropped the program. D.A.R.E. force-feeds lies and propaganda to our kids about relatively benign drugs like marijuana, equating recreational pot use with hard-core heroin addiction. When kids find out that they've been lied to about pot, they make the perfectly reasonable conclusion that everything else was a lie, too-- so why not go ahead and try heroin or speed? (Little wonder that some studies show D.A.R.E. graduates to be more likely to use drugs than kids who didn't go through the program.) Even if they don't come to that unfortunate conclusion, children's respect for educators and police is permanently damaged. School officials see little reason to discard D.A.R.E., since it's basically free-- funded largely by (unconstitutionally seized) drug forfeiture assets. Still, one might hope that our children's educations would be shaped by factors beyond pure economics. Keith Sanders IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist

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