NCJ Number
164518
Date Published
1996
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program is extremely popular and the most widely used school-based drug prevention program, but scientific research reveals that it does not produce sustained effects on drug use or even on attitudes toward police.
Abstract
Furthermore, the most recent data suggest that the use of marijuana, inhalants, LSD, stimulants, and cigarettes began to rise significantly among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders beginning in 1992 and continuing through 1994. The cohorts in which drug use began to rise for the first time since 1979 would have been 6th graders in 1990, 8th graders in 1992, and 10th graders in 1994. If DARE had been spread all across the United States by 1990, these would be the students who would have been most affected by the diffusion of DARE. DARE began in the 1983-84 school year, has received strong Federal support and funding, and currently reaches at least 25 million students each year. It is popular among police, teachers, administrators, and parents for many reasons. However, it appears to reflect most people's naive attitudes to the world and how to solve social problems such as juvenile drug use. The country should recognize that no single school-based program can counter all the factors influencing students' attitudes and behaviors toward drugs, accept the findings regarding DARE, and deal with the implications if it really wants to influence juvenile drug use. 9 references