DRUG USE UP, TRUSTEE SAYS D.A.R.E. FAILED

Board Ponders Studying Anti-Drug Programs

Drug use among Chilliwack school kids is on the rise again, prompting
District 33 officials to debate the effectiveness of programs they hoped
would halt the problem.

Principals have handed down 61 suspensions for drug or alcohol use so far
this year-the same number that occurred during the whole of 1999/2000.

And that number was up from 1998/1999, when only 46 suspensions for
drinking and drugs use were issued. The worst year in recent history
remains 1995/1996, with 113 suspensions.

"While the sum total of drug use among children has dropped from the
1995/1996 school year, there is evidence it may be on the increase again,"
assistant superintendent Jim Latham told trustees at Tuesday night's board
meeting.

But, Latham said, programs like D.A.R.E. and the Just Say No Club encourage
kids to report fellow students using drugs, which would naturally lead to
more suspensions.

"There's been a whole cultural shift," Latham said, "and that's a very
positive thing."

Trustee Barry Neufeld saw the numbers differently, however, and said the
D.A.R.E. program-which is run in partnership with Chilliwack RCMP-did not
prevent some of his child's friends from using drugs.

"I have a photo at home of my daughter and her friends, and they're all
wearing their D.A.R.E. t-shirts," he said.

"Most of the kids in that picture are now using some very scary drugs.
Without being alarmist, I think we should look at the sudden mushrooming of
crack and heroin in our neighbourhoods and consider that some of the things
we are doing are not effective."

Superintendent Jacquie Taylor defended the work of both D.A.R.E. and the
school district, saying the problem is one only the community as a whole
can solve.

"I think we need to remember that the RCMP have been really effective in
the schools," she said.

"And the other thing we need to remember is is that schools alone cannot
attack this problem. There is more and more pressure to have societal
problems solved within a five-hour school day."