At a press conference today, proponents of the student anti-drug education program DARE admitted that its current approach is ineffective at persuading graduates to resist experimenting with illicit drugs. The group announced that it will begin controlled studies this fall on a new DARE curriculum targeting older students.
More than 30 studies have been conducted evaluating DARE, almost all of which have concluded that DARE graduates go on to use drugs at similar or higher rates than those students not exposed to the program. Recently, both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academy of Sciences issued reports concluding DAREs approach is ineffective. Nevertheless, the program continues to be taught in nearly 80 percent of the nation’s school districts, and receives over $230 million in federal and corporate funding.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Foundation Executive Director at (202) 483-8751.
