THE PROBLEM WITH DARE

Port St. Lucie News The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or
DARE, taught in the public schools by law-enforcement officers is
popular. DARE has been around a long time and has become part of the
school experience.

The St. Lucie County school district had to have a good reason to
consider eliminating the DARE program. That reason is simple. Numerous
studies have determined DARE is ineffective in reducing drug and
alcohol use and, according to some studies, might even be
detrimental.

The program has been criticized by the U.S. Government Accountability
Office, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Surgeon General.
Federal grants cannot be used for DARE because of its lack of success.

That does not mean DARE is completely without merit. Its primary
benefit appears to be the interaction and relationships between the
officers and the students.

DARE would be replaced with a program called Too Good for Drugs,
taught by substance abuse prevention specialists.

Every program in the school district should be evaluated periodically
to determine if it is achieving its desired goals. If one doesn't seem
to be working, it should be replaced. That's what the district is
doing with DARE.

The school district and the community at large want schoolchildren to
avoid drugs and gangs and violence. If new programs don't work, they,
too, should be replaced until greater and more lasting successes are
found.

Changing or eliminating an established program is rarely easy in a
major organization such as the school district. But, if anything, this
change may be overdue.

Port St. Lucie News, Florida