D.A.R.E. to Stop Wasting Time and Money
No school program epitomizes a childhood in the nineties like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.). I still have a few awkward memories of wearing an over-sized D.A.R.E. t-shirt, reading my “I promise never to do drugs” essay at the D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony. I don’t remember the essay itself, but I do remember thinking that the concept didn’t mean a whole lot to me, or to many of my classmates.
Many research studies over the past two decades have reached the same conclusion: D.A.R.E. does not work. By the end of the ’90s, there had already been dozens of studies that reached the conclusion that D.A.R.E. is ineffective, at best. In fact, in some suburban areas, it appears to have the opposite effect: A six-year follow-up study showed an increase in drug use among D.A.R.E. graduates. Yet the program is still around, using up tax dollars and officer time.
Despite the plethora of research on its futility, Blue Springs, Mo., spends more than $1 million every year on its D.A.R.E. program. It is funded though a quarter-cent sales tax called “Community Backed Anti-drug Taxes” (COMBAT). From the Examiner (emphasis added):
[Jackson County Executive Mike] Sanders could not emphasize enough the importance of the tax, which funds many county services, including one-third of the county prosecutor’s budget; it also funds a portion of the drug task force and the popular and successful DARE program.
The Kansas City Star article criticizes the decision to keep the COMBAT tax and the D.A.R.E. program, pointing out that even supporters can’t show proof of its success, and many national studies have shown that it is unsuccessful. Even the surgeon general said, in 2001, that the program does not work. While it is certainly a “feel good” program, it is not a good use of tax payer dollars.
Twelve years have passed since I graduated D.A.R.E., and it has been an even longer time since the program has been debunked, yet it continues to remain funded because of the idea that something needs to be done, regardless of whether it is effective. Numerous studies have shown that the program’s touted “successes” can’t actually be credited to D.A.R.E. I personally have never taken an illegal drug, but I don’t think D.A.R.E. factored into my decision, and plenty of my classmates still chose to do drugs in middle school and high school, despite completing the program.
D.A.R.E. has consistently failed to prove that it’s worth the taxpayer expense. Considering that the Blue Springs children seem likely to fit the profile of children who have been negatively impacted by D.A.R.E. in the past, residents there certainly have better uses for that money than to fund a discredited program.
Remember the D.A.R.E. cartoons? Those were scary.
I’m waiting for someone to insist that all the police officers who teach D.A.R.E. get their teaching certificates.
Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 3, 2009 @ 2:00 p.m.
This is a shame. I learned a lot about meth from D.A.R.E. There are very few Washingtonians who wouldn’t recognize Office Dan, the area D.A.R.E. instructor. He is truly a legend and his program will be missed. Is it effective as a preventive? No, not really. But it did educate nonetheless. My nostalgic feelings are clouding my judgment here.
Comment by Jake Voss — November 3, 2009 @ 2:21 p.m.
D.A.R.E is a terrible joke. All it does is encourage curiousity. Thuggish cops who get off on throwing people in jail for having a plant in their basement should be kept away from children. Drugs abuse education can be taught at home and by regular teachers without the extra waste of money.
Comment by Joe Nonnenkamp — November 3, 2009 @ 2:21 p.m.
My daughter won the DARE essay contest when she was that age. Prolly because she waxed eloquent about how great Officer Whoever was who ran the program (not much in that essay about drugs, now that I think of it). Since she dropped out of high school, she has been in treatment twice, drug court, you name it. Yeah. Ask me all about how the program works. (Good news: She’s back on track and a productive adult citizen now.)
My oldest son, on the other hand, told us how ridiculous he thought it all was and got our permission to NOT graduate from DARE. We were OK with that. But we sure got weird looks from the teachers.
Comment by jon — November 3, 2009 @ 4:14 p.m.
I did not realize that DARE had such a lack of documented success over the years. I must admit that I was not interested in joining back in the 80’s and 90’s myself.
One thing I did notice was that the research and articles linked above appeared to be about 10 years old for the most part. Then when I clicked on the link to the DARE website, it appears they are attempting to reinvent themselves with a whole new approach with their “New” DARE Program. “Gone is the old-style approach to prevention in which an officer stands behind a podium and lectures students in straight rows.”
Perhaps there is some hope for the program yet…
Comment by DaveG — November 3, 2009 @ 10:04 p.m.
The WashMo’s guy name was Officer Ed, not Officer Dan. My bad, and thanks to Pat Eckelkamp for pointing out my mistake. Officer Ed did a good job of keeping the two of us drug free back in fifth grade at Our Lady of Lourdes, of course, out strict Catholic upbringing might have contributed as well. I don’t have the econometrics background to figure out a formula deciding what contributes to drug use, but I’m sure DARE would be in there somewhere.
Comment by Jake Voss — November 4, 2009 @ 11:34 p.m.
And to be fair, some of the studies showed that DARE created a much-needed rapport between the police officers and the community, so there is some value in that. (Does it necessitate 10 weeks and $1 million? Probably not.) I haven’t seen any studies on the reincarnation of DARE, but I’ll keep an eye out for some.
Comment by Caitlin Hartsell — November 5, 2009 @ 10:31 a.m.
D.A.R.E. now does dance lessons, which sound a lot more fun than the workbooks I had in fifth grade:
http://www.dare.com/home/dance/dance.asp
Comment by Sarah Brodsky — November 5, 2009 @ 10:54 a.m.
I learned a lot of great songs in D.A.R.E. Unfortunately, I forgot all of the dances!
My mind is my own!
I’ll reap what I’ve sown!
I know I can be drug free!
Yeah, yeah!
Comment by Christine Harbin — November 5, 2009 @ 3:55 p.m.
Caitlin – don’t know what community you live in, but I have about the right amount of rapport with my law enforcement officials as I want. We don’t fear them; we respect them. But we also don’t need to be “buddies” with them. I’ve never understood that. I mean, we tell parents, “Don’t be their FRIENDS; be their PARENTS!”
Wouldn’t the same dictum hold for the cops? “Don’t be their FRIENDS; be their PROTECTORS and AUTHORITY FIGURES!”
Comment by jon — November 6, 2009 @ 4:10 p.m.
Jon,
If you re-read my comment, I was not talking about my own community, I was talking about study results that said the D.A.R.E. program improved the relationship between the police and community. You may have that “respect” relationship, but there are plenty of communities that see the police as the enemy. In some of the studies, D.A.R.E. seemed to ameliorate that view somewhat.
Comment by Caitlin — November 7, 2009 @ 12:24 a.m.
And that “police as the enemy” view is largely fueled by the war on drugs, of which DARE is an aspect. Of course it’s also fueled by a bunch of them being dicks, but that’s not as easily correctable.
Thinking back to 5th grade, I resent the time I spent on DARE and the stupid XXL tshirt that STILL doesn’t fit me even after I grew a couple more feet. I don’t remember anything I was taught but I’m sure a lot of it was lies. Invading school to teach falsehoods makes me hate the police a bit.
Comment by chad — January 12, 2010 @ 11:41 p.m.