OPINION
Other Views

The Bellingham Herald, Aug. 6, on schools and drugs:

A proposal to require schools that receive federal drug
prevention funds to prove their antidrug programs work deserves the full
support of Congress.

The government spends $500 million a year on such programs,
but only 2 percent of them follow strategies proven in research, a recent
study showed.

That ought to alarm lawmakers, parents, police, school officials
and taxpayers.

With youth drug use on the rise nationally, we need to be
equipping our children with the most effective antidrug tools available.

The proposed Education Department guidelines would do that
by requiring drug prevention programs to be based "on research or
evaluation that provides evidence" they actually have reduced drug use.
The programs also would be required to meet measurable goals and
objectives.

Congress should also be encouraging the Education
Department to blacklist ineffective programs...