Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA) Copyright: 2008 The Daily Herald Co. Contact: http://www.heraldnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190 Author: Nadine Moorin Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n728/a02.html TODAY'S PROGRAM A SOUND INVESTMENT I would like to provide insight to the question posed by columnist Julie Muhlstein on July 25 ("Heroin death raises questions on education.") Today's Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) may not be the DARE with which most are familiar. Gone is the old-style approach to prevention where an officer stands behind a podium and lectures students. The new DARE curriculum includes officer-facilitated work, role playing, discussion groups, utilization of research-based refusal strategies, and decision-making skills that help the students develop and assess choices they make in life. Students also see for themselves, via stunning brain imagery, tangible proof of how substances diminish mental activity, emotions, coordination and movement. Mock courtroom exercises bring home the social and legal consequences of drug use and violence. In an effort to remain dynamic and address current issues facing our communities and our children, supplemental lessons and activities on methamphetamines, gangs, bullying, cyber-bullying and Internet safety were developed in 2003. The most recent addition is the Rx/OTC (prescription/over-the-counter) Drug Abuse materials, which include lessons for elementary, middle and high school, as well as community presentations. There have been 18 studies since 1997 showing DARE is effective, including a study by the National Medical Association showing DARE graduates are five times less likely to begin smoking than non-DARE graduates. Eleven of these studies can be found on our Web site, www.dare.org, which receives more than 19 million hits per month and is a valuable resource for parents, teachers and children. DARE impacts 26 million children every year in all 50 states and more than 50 foreign countries. Prevention and education regarding illegal drugs, abuse of other substances, and violence is not only a sound investment, it is a necessity. Nadine Moorin DARE America Northwest Regional Director - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin