The future of D.A.R.E.

I hate do burst your bubble, but D.A.R.E. just plain does not work, at least it did not in my children's school system - allegedly one of the best in the state.

My children went through D.A.R.E. Their middle school had huge banners about how it was a D.A.R.E. school and how all the children in the school signed the pledge to be alcohol and drug free through their years in the school system, etc.

Then my daughter went off to the high school (9th grade. 14 years old). After school on the first Friday, they had a party for all the freshmen. My daughter came home nearly in tears. I asked her what was the matter. Her response? "Mom, I'm not sure who I will find in that whole school to be my friend. All my old friends drink and smoke pot. They were going off into the woods behind the school during the whole picnic and nobody even seemed to care." She eventually found a few friends of a like mind. She's 24 now, and drinks responsibly. She learned this from ME, not from any D.A.R.E. program that allows the school system to poke their heads in the sand and not even acknowledge that there is any sort of drinking problem in their high school because all those kids signed some pledge when they were in junior high.

I lost count of the number of alcohol-related accidents, including fatalities, police incidents, etc. in her school during her years there. D.A.R.E. is not going to stop anything as long as the kids can get into their parents' liquor cabinets and the schools use it as an excuse to do nothing. They hid behind their D.A.R.E. signs.

My two younger children, now 24 and 13 went to the D.A.R.E. program and I thought it was a good program. At least there is a program and an attempt to help children. I am sorry to hear about Moh. H's experience but I believe in the program. If it helps 10% of the kids who would have drank or use drugs across the country change their minds, it is a grand success to me.

I grew up in the 60's and I saw what drugs and alcohol did to kids then. It is a really bad choice and it ruin your life and maybe there are some that just don't listen or care. This program may not work in all places, for all people but at least someone is trying.

We have so much Media coverage on drinking and driving and the consequences. We see the commercials of the pictures of children who are no more and see the tragic pictures of those who survived and are scarred or disabled for life...yet people drink and drive.

I applaud the efforts of all involved in D.A.R.E !!!

I personally never graduated from D.A.R.E. and guess what, I never do drugs and drink alcohol. But I know that there are lots of people who did graduate from D.A.R.E. that do those sort of things.

Thanks for the update. D.A.R.E., in my opinion, is a worthwhile program. In my kids' school, years ago (they're grown now), they did cover abuse of over the counter medications, as well as abuse of common household items, such as correction fluid (white out), aerosols, tv/computer screen cleaner, etc.

The problem with D.A.R.E. is not the program itself, or its content, and yes, it may convince a few fence-sitters to not abuse substances, and it gives those who weren't going to do it anyway a defense against peer pressure. But then it stops. It becomes a shield behind which all involved with those kids (parents, teachers, school administrators, etc.) can now hide. "See, we've protected our kids. We've put them through D.A.R.E. There's no substance abuse problem in this district." We heard similar comments every time there was an accident, a raided party, a case of alcohol poisoning, etc. in the high school. At that point, programs like this become not helpful, but dangerous, because the kids who were NOT helped by it now have nothing. There is no follow-up. The adults who should be doing that follow-up don't even acknowledge that there is a need for follow-up.