Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL) Copyright: 2007 Tallahassee Democrat. Contact: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444 Note: Prints email address for LTEs sent by email Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n843/a01.html Author: Robert Sharpe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) D.A.R.E. PROGRAM MODEL IS UNREALISTIC Re: "Dare to look elsewhere for savings," (editorial, July 13). Independent evaluations of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) 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 cocaine 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 most popular recreational drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior, alcohol, is often overlooked. 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. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman