Pubdate: Tue, 09 Jul 2002
Source: Naples Daily News (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Naples Daily News.
Contact:  http://www.naplesnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/284
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1224/a07.html

DRUG ABUSE

The July 2nd editorial in the Naples Daily News contained excellent advice 
on preventing adolescent drug use. The importance of parental involvement 
in reducing drug use cannot be overstated. School-based extracurricular 
activities have also been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy 
during the hours they're most prone to getting into trouble. In order for 
anti-drug education to be effective it has to be credible. The most popular 
recreational drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior 
is often overlooked by parents. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more 
lives every year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but 
it's still the No. 1 drug problem. For decades anti-drug education has been 
dominated by sensationalist programs like Drug Abuse Resistance Education. 
Good intentions are no substitute for effective education.

Every independent, methodologically sound evaluation of DARE has found the 
program to be either ineffective or counterproductive. The scare tactics 
used do more harm than good. Students who realize they are being lied to 
about marijuana often make the mistake of assuming that harder drugs like 
heroin 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.

Robert Sharpe, program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens