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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0127.000 2002-2004 ~~1~ RECONSI E ucYt~Y a; ~I(4#~Eft2SN?1 ~ ME<1«?`~Uh~BER4' ~ry~ _ ~ .~Ct 3 ~ .rxF_r, Y sle k ,.~1 dy'l. fi n-M lll. I ~~~~~'~ssue ~ ~ ael Roon ~ ~ or to iew D.~.l w~~. ~ > rf develope " r oing enough. , F i 1 k ~ h§. , ~~4 's groundbreaking h den costs - ofD i~y''$x IIM1 r`~f Salt Lake Crty .aka u :in Yi!Y Ro 1t1geY - 'ion expert shares hisN' son how to reinv° for teens. a Craig Reinarr~an ~ xis S~= - ~ n drugs ~ takes students far beyond the "Just Sa essrt Marsha Rosenbaum -This medical so discovered first-hand that drug education w ~ ~ Then e did something about~iti 7 n Q~ ~zt,tnuch more... O F[le Nop. ` Ref. To!~- ~ 0 ~-~.re a~003~~. g~GG RECONSI ERC~ucrter~... blt ~ ~~p~,8riat;~i;ug~ r F~ : ~ xtf~ arty ~i kVe. Table o f Contents . f~~ u~~at ~~iafW Features: ~n~~ oc~o 'stne~ ,3 ~ r 2 Are We Doing Enough? ~ By Michael R. Roona and Alexandra Eyle m~11 ~ . 4 A Guide to Shopping for Drug Education Programs ~ ~ ~ ~ u,. By Alexandra Eyle ~ 4 1 ti ~p ~ ~1 ~y 6 We Wasted Billions on D.A.R.E. ~ "f ;ii 1 By Edward Shepard, Ph.D. ff Q~ i ~ ~ 12 What It Was Like to Drop the D.A.R.E. Program k.. An Interview with Salt Lake City Mayor Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson ~ 14 On Reinventing Drug Education for Adolescents ~ ; . ~ By Rodney Skager, Ph.D. i'+`~~• ~ ~1 s s"" r i p r , ~ ~ 4~i 22 Notes on Drug Education for College Students ~ ~ ~ ~ b_ By Craig Reinarman, Ph.D. r ~*s< . a:: 26 A Focus on Safety First Strikes a Universal Chord ~ `F~ ,n;, By Marsha Rosenbaum, Ph.D. ~ ~h I ~ 29 Article Endnotes ~ J' ~t z;'« ~ ' nx Departments: kv ~ ia~ N w 1 Editor's Letter. Where Do We Go From Here? _ ~ ~Pi:fi 19 Recommended Reading: After Prohibition: An Adult Approach ? ~ ~~~~k to Drug Policies in the 21st Century ~ „,.~»ag R. . Reviewed By Kevin B. Zeese ~ 4~at ~ 20 Guest Speaker: Ignorance Hurts Both MM Drug Users and Their Families ~ By Susan P. Koningen ~ p : M 4{~ (C{~a~!~fi~lttr ~ leP ,y, - Nfaalir$ $~nth~r$~i~an~~d~+nes SthaflBidrFq P$t}tsei 5rl~thsvr~ Statement of Pur ose ~~8~~+xr+~~rssx=_~°~lai<~,r°:' p T'rga>;,~C fatne>~Vi!righf ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy is a nonpartisan, grass roots mem- 9°3~r@a~J~B~lSor~; bership organization that works by consensus and through the volunteer ef- ~'1®nnlfy~}D~niels,M,D,M~V,p!/Illism KfrSne~ D~40„dd~q~~`duntX ~.eglslAtGre9 forts and contributions of its members. It is a Newyork State not-for-profit p}jnchLevri5;4iryquditoGSyrouise;NY; corporation, with its headquarters in Syracuse. It is supported by individual J;FX:Maiinis:p,CED~t}nrLYC!(Q)nsuitimCe, contributions and grants. (Rgt);Rdt~iclCMurphy,.Ghie(ofPofic~~ Syracuse, NV (ReytYan Robinsori; Its unifying belief that the War on Drugs has failed grounds its fundamental Counciler-at-LBigg,Gi2yo(Symcuse;Carol purposes: to effect substantial change in United States drug policy; to pro- Sheppard. HousingAuthgtky, Syracuse,NY; mote, support, and engage in open discussion of alternatives to the War on DtGenefiinelli;M¢,PhD;Patrlcia Drugs; to form numerous chapters that challenge citizens and local political Wa°Iderprt'sMen! Syroause Schaaf &sord (kCt) , leaders to rethink drug policies; and to help enact pragmatic legislation that We~llSika:wtJw.r°tonsiderorg reduces harm and preserves liberties. to~t•~t'e°Numder: 1,860-9+J23244 Editor's Letter: Drug Education Where Do We Go from Here? When Drug Abuse Resistance Education September '1001 through June 2006. The Ca[ifontia, tells us how he helps his (D.A.R.E.J was fast launched in 1983, survey will include an assessment ofhow sociology students decode drug educa- parents welcomed it, believing it would well the program was implemented, tion messages -and what it takes to help keep their children safe. But some students'receptiuity to the program, gain students' trust. found that D.A.R.E. wasn't working the interviews with dropouts, and analyses of Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, mayor of Salt way they'd hoped it would. school and community data in order to Lake City, talks about how citizens of "In 1994, D.A.R.E. invaded the serenity of understand the contextual impact on the Salt Lake City reacted when he stopped program's delivery and outcome. our home,"Steve Finichel, a doctor from funding D.A.R.E. -and offers advice to New.Iersey, told us last fall. `Nly 10-yeas- Is D.A.R.E. America to be applduded for other mayors. old son began to cry uncontrollably at revising its program? Or should it be Marsha Rosenbaum, Ph.D., a medical dinner, informing his mother and me condemned, as Salt Lake City Mayor sociologist and the director of the that the wine we mere about to drink Rocky Anderson put it, for foisting this /,indesmith Center-Drug Policy Founda- takes 14 minutes from our lives. He also fraud on the American public in the first tion, tells how she came to write her informed us that we were alcoholics. To place, and trying to salvage its reputa- ground breaking booklet, Safety First make matters worse, he put a tip into the tion by using our children as guinea classroom D.A.R.E. box and was fright- pigs? How did we end up In this situa- Susan Koningen, a single mother from erred that soon we would be taken off to tion?And where should we go from here? Australia, shares her story ofhow she jail..." Experts in the held helped us answer has coped with drug abuse in her own these questions. family -and is helping others to do the 7b make matters worse, studies found that the program wasn't working. In Michael R. Roona, executive director of same. 2001, the O.S. Surgeon General placed it Social Capital Development Corporation, We also offer a brief Guide to Shopping under the category of `7neffectiue served us an oduisor to the developers of for Drug Education Programs. Programs."D.A.R.E. America first the new D.A.R.E. curriculum. He takes us Shifting our focus from drug education defended the program, then worked with from D.A.R.E.'s beginnings up to the the /nstitute o(Hea/th and Social Policy, present, andshares his concerru about to the broader issue ofdrug policy, we at the (Iniversity ofAkron, to revise it, the new program. incited Kevin Zeese, president o(Com- using agrant from the Robert Wood mon Sense for Drug Policy, to review Johnson Foundation. Edward Shepard, Ph.D., associate Afler Prohibition: An Adult Approach to professor and chairofthe LeMoyne Drug Policies in the 21st Century, edited About 37, 000 7th-graders are now taking College Department ofEconomics, by Timothy Lynch, director o(the Cato part in the program, known as the undertook a ground breaking study to Institute. Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention find out how much D.A.R.E. has cost ur. Study, which was launched in September /n the process, he discovered that D..A.R.F.. This special issue of the Quarterly is far 2001 in 87school dislricts in six selected costs more than we knew. from the final word on drug education. cities -New Orleans, Houston, Los But if it motivates teachers, parents and Angeles, Newark, St. Louis, and Detroif. Rodney Skager, Ph.D, professor emeritus community leaders to rethink our All of fhe districts were randomly o(the UCLA Graduate School ofEduca- approach to find new and productive assigned the new program, with half tion and Information Studies, draws on ways to cut drug use and the harms it getting the new program and halfserufng his talks with teens to tell us whRt inflicts, then we've achieved our goal. as the control group and continuing educational approaches might be best to Only by examining this issue openly can their old drug abuse preuen6on actiui- follow. we uncover better ways to talk to kids ties. 1o determine the program's success, Craig Reinarman, Ph.D., professor and about drugs. a1137,000 students will be surveyed from chair ofsodology at the University of Alexandra Eyle, editor THE RECONSIDER QUARTERL~ Poor Results Prompt D.A.R.E. to Create New Curriculum; One Druq Education Expert i~onders... Are We Doing Enough? f31,/ l~1CflQel R. HOOnQ Editor's Note: Michael R. Roona, executive director ofthe Social Capital Devel- andAlexandra Eyle opment Corporation, serves on several national and local substance abuse ad- visory boards, including the one advising the program developers who rede- ` ' hen most people think of signed -and will evaluate the effectiveness of- the new D.A.R. F. curriculum. He also is directing an evaluation ofatamily-strengthening and student assis- d they think of the ubiquitous 1'~~-M~ drug education program tancecounselingproyramforchildrenwhoseparentsareinmethadonemain- taughttofifth-orsixth-graders in 80% tenanceandotherdrugtreatmentprograms(fortheCenterforSubstanceAbuse ofthe school districts across the United Prevention); helping substance abuse and mental health treatment providers States. But D.A.R.E. is more than this improve treatment Ior clients who are simultaneously dealin_9 with mental one program. D.A.R.E. is both a se- health and substance abuse problems (for the Center for Mental Health Ser- quence of drug education curricula vices); and conducting ameta-analysis of school-based drug education pro- designed to be implemented in elemen- gram evalualions (for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). He has written tary, middle, and high schools and a the sections on childhood and adolescent substance abuse for the first edition complex set of institutional relation- of The Encyclopedia of Prevention and Health Promotion, availuble this June. ships that collectively constitute the He is an active ReconsiDer member. Michael Roona may be reached at 5J8- mostcomprehensive infrastructure tar 433-1755 or at mroona@social-capitaLorg. the implementation of prevention pro- grammingacross the United States and the world. D.A.R.F,. had rather humble beginnings. It was established in Los Angeles in 1983 by a curriculum developer named Ruth Rich who was working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Police Department. About half of Rich's Drug Abuse Resis- ~ . lance Education (D.A.R.E.) curriculum used materials and artwork developed Los Angeles Police Department, which Darryl Gates' extremist fantasies that by Dr. William Hansen, who had cre- together with the Los Angeles Unified the D.A.R.E. program emerged and ated them for his Project S.M.A.R.T. School District, spawned D.A.R.E. A grew. But D.A.R.E.'s ideological foun- drug education program. frightening glimpse into Gates' mind, dations are less relevant today, partly When the first preliminary evaluation and the setting in which D.A.R.E. grew because this emphasis on abstinence of D.A.RE. showed that the program and prospered, can be found in Gates' has been reinforced by the Drug Free had the potential to prevent substance 1990 testimony before the ll.S. Senate Schools and Communities Act, which that the "casual user ou ~ use by kids, the D.A.R.E. system began ght to be taken denies financial assistance to schools to grow prolifically. Nancy Reagan, out and shot, because he or she has no for any federal program unless those wife o[ then President Ronald Reagan, reason for using drugs." When asked schools teach that the use of illicit had launched her "Just Say No" cam- about this outrageous testimony, Gates drugs and the unlawful possession and paign, providing a context for D.A.R.E.'s stressed that he was not "being face- use of alcohol is wrong and harmful. rapid growth. The "Just Say No" man- tious" and asserted that marijuana us- In addition, D.A.R.F.. has become a tra, while hopelessly nave, was consis- ers were guilty of treason.' multimillion-dollar industry with cor- tent with the zealous, zero-tolerance So it was in the context of Nancy porate officers earning six-figure sala- attitude of Darryl Gates, Chief of the ries; D.A.R.E. now may be more inter- Reagan's "Just Say No" crusade and ested in preserving its lucrative empire ~L-SHE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY than advancing an ideological position. stitutional relationships, not a single Nonetheless the Principles ofEffective- D.A.R.E. America, the national parent organization. Independent tax-exempt, Hess did indirectly affect D.A.R.E.; they organization headquartered in Los An- nonprofit D.A.R.E. organizations are in- gave new force to the findings of nu- geles, had assets of $3,574,848 and in- corporated in many states, and these merous prior evaluations of D.A.R.E.'s come of $11,593,663 in 1998, the last organizations have budgets ranging up Flagship 17-week program, which have year for which data are publicly avail- to $5,000,000. According to a recent shown it to be ineffective at reducing able. Revenue sources included con- (unpublished) study conducted by Jeff substance use. Furthermore, these tributions ($4,135,476), government Merrill and his colleagues at the Rob- evaluations demonstrated that itdidn't grants ($2,188,187), special events ert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, matter where the program was imple- the average amount of mented. Evaluations conducted in [I- i, r I~ ilk u('`"' ~ ~ funding for D.A.R.E. at the linois,~ Kentucky,' North Carolina,° state level is $528,000 and South Carolinas British Columbia,s this funding comes from a and elsewhere consistently demon- widevariety ofsources. In strated no effect on self reported sub- 12 states the primary stance use by youth' But it is impor- source of funding is legis- tant to note that no moderate orhigh- lated (for example, the use quality evaluations of the D.A.R.E. pro- ofassetforfeiture proceeds gram for higher grade levels or of the . , to fund D.A.R.E. programs). cumulative effects of D.A.R.E. on youths In 12 other states, the pri- who receive D.A.R.E. in elementary, mary source of funding is middle, and high school have been con- federal or state grants (in- ducted. D.A.R. E. America, for its part, chiding the Byrne formula has always contended that it is nave grants provided to states Lo expect that aone-shot program in by the feds until President fifth or sixth grade would be effective Bush eliminated the Byrne and, from the start it proposed a multi- program shortly after tak- year program, beginning in elementary $ ing office). In only seven school and running through high +'i states is the primary school. source of funding for D.A.R.F.. the U.S. Education D.A.R.E. Now Will Reach Older Students, ~'oo ($2,360,590), annual While ubiquitous license royalties ,,,the "CQSZIQI user ought to be at the fifth- and ($2,682,975), and sixth-grade level investments taken out and Shot because he or she (and quite com- ($226,435). Thegov- ~ mon at lower ernment grants for has no reason for using drugs. " grades), D.A.R.E. themostpartarenot has generally competitive grants. DQrYgI GQteS, Chief, Los Angeles Police Department been unable to Rather, they are spe- penetrate junior cial appropriations and senior high of funds (earmarked for drug education schools. This lack programs taught by uniformed police Departments Safe and Drug Free of penetration at the junior and senior officers) that are not part of the nor- Schools program and only one of those high school levels will soon change, mal budget debate. These ear marks, states has a D.A.R.E. operation with a however. or hard marks (more commonly known budget in excess of $1,000,000. Hence, Today, drug education developers and as pork), are inserted into program or even if the Principles of Effectiveness researchers agree that multi-year pro- agency budgets by legislators who like for drug education programs, promul- grams are the way to go and that multi- D.A.R.F,. gated in 1999 by the Safe and Drug Free year programs should focus on the The balance sheet and income state- Schools program to prohibit federal needs ofmiddle-schoolstudents.Some ment of the parent organization, how- funding of ineffective drug education contend that one reason for the failure ever, do not capture D.A.R.E.'s full scope, programs, directly affect D.A.R.E., the of D.A.R.E.'s Flagship program is that it because D.A.R.E. is a complex set of in- 'mpact will be dramatic in only a few states. THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY 3 targeted kids who were too young. are based on active learning and sup- commercially available alternative to Most prevention researchers who ad- portive teaching strategies, which are D.A.R.E. While analyses ofthe Life Skills here to an"inoculation"model of sub- regarded by curriculum and instruc- Training program and other alternative stance abuse prevention believe that tion scholars as effective pedagogical programs have shown some to be ef- kids must be inoculated closer to the practices. In the context of drug edu- fective in the short term, most have not age when they enter the youth drug cation programs, these strategies also been evaluated in the long term. It re- subculture, which generally occurs in are recognized as beneficial. In the nor- mains to be seen if the students (who middle school. rower domain ofabstinence-based pro- for the most part were not substance grams that have the goal of eliminat- users when they participated in these Revamping D.A.R.E• ing use of drugs, the evidence of what programs) will report markedly lower It is with this perspective in mind that works to promote abstinence from il- levels of substance use or abuse when the Institute for Health and Social legal drug and alcohol use is largely they mature into the youth drug sub- Policy at the University of Akron set based onshort-term evaluations; there culture, orwhether the strategies used about designing a new state-of-the-art is no long-term evidence that active to "educate" them will backfire. drug education program, funded by a learning and supportive teaching strat- $13.7 million grant from The Robert egies offer the best approach to pro- What Problems Lie Ahead? Wood Johnson Foundation. The result muting abstinence, or that promoting As one of the advisors to the Univer- of this initiative is aten-lesson, sev- abstinence is itself an effective sub- sityofAkrongroupthatdeveloped and enth-grade curriculum thatwasimple- stance abuse prevention strategy. evaluated the "state-of-the-art" cur- mented by D.A.R.E in the fall of 2001 ricula implemented this fall by in 176 middle schools in New Orleans, The Education Department's Principles D.A.R.F.., 1 am curious to see what the Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, St. of Effectiveness and the numerous evaluation will yield. We may find, for Louis, and Detroit. In addition, a new studies that have shown D.A.R.E. to be instance, that the same intervention ninth-grade curriculum, currently ineffective havehadalargereffectthan components that delay the onset of use under development, will be imple- the mere revamping and expansion of atayoungerage increase the likelihood mented in the 80 high schools those the D.A.R.E. program. They also have of abuse when the students mature. 176 middle schools feed into two years opened the way for other, alternative For example, teaching seventh-graders hence, when this year's seventh-grad- Programs to penetrate the drug edu- that fewer of their peers use a particu- ers are in ninth grade. Youth who par- cation marketplace. The Life Skills lar substance than they previously ticipate in the seventh- and ninth- Training program is one well-known grade curricula will be followed through eleventh grade, atwhich time A Guide ti0 Shopping self-reports of substance use will be r collected to determine whether stu fOY DYUg EduCatlOn PYOgY1n1S dents who went through the junior/ senior high school program have l4 wer A Basic Rule of T~iumb: rates of substance use than cum ~ari- son students who haven't gone through the program. The curriculum developer at the University of Akron responsible for the new seventh- and gy Alexandra Eyle While many programs have been ninth-grade D.A.R.E. curricula, Dr. Ri- evaluated for their effectiveness in pre- chard Hawthorne, also is developing a Oneofthebiggestproblemsthatschool venting use of cigarettes, alcohol and new fifth-grade D.A.R.E. curriculum to boards and their communities face marijuana, none has demonstrated its replace the one currently in use in 80% when cutting D.A.R.E. from schools is effectiveness in preventing cocaine, ofthe school districts across the United deciding whatshould take its place. Un- heroin, or speed use. Despite this fact, States, in an effort to see if this im est_ fortunately, there's no easy solution to programs are regularly labeled as "ef- ment can be salvaged and made more that problem. This is not due to any fectivesubstanceabusepreventionpro- effective. lack of alternatives -there are hun- dreds out there. So many, in fact, that grams." Whether these new curricula, alone or to make a good selection, school board • Government endorsement of a pro- insequence, will have an impact on the or community members must firstarm gram does not mean it prevents all substance use or abuse behaviors of themselves with these basic under- drug use. For instance, the popular Life eleventh-graders remains to be seen. standings: Skills Training program has been The curricula that have been developed shown to be effective in reducing ciga- 4_.-SHE RECONSIDE0. QUARTERLY thought might reduce use in the short counterproductive with youths who drugs is a symptom or consequence of term by eliminating pressure to con- use substances because those youths their dysfunctional home life rather form with unrealistic expectations maybe involved in a "deviant" subcul- than a cause of their problems. These about substance use by their peers.But lure that not only rejects abstinence, children need to be protected from reinforcing the natural tendency of but also rejects moderation. Modern- abuse and counseled to help them posi- adolescents to conform to the social lion, like tolerance, is a fundamental lively cope with the experiences - norms of their peers may have the re- virtue that, unfortunately, due to fed- rather than seeking solace in a high verse effect in eleventh grade, when eral restrictions, cannot be taught in that momentarily liberates them from most kids are using or have used those American schools dependent upon fed- their pain. 'I`he drug experiences of substances; if the noun in eleventh eral funding. these students are very different from grade is to use drugs (whereas in sev- those of healthy kids who get high be- enth grade the norm was to not use Still Not Reaching cause the want to tr them) the students ma now decide to Those Who 7Yuly Need Us y Y a new experi- Y ence or because they've gotten high conform by using. Thus, it is conceiv- Finally, what the new curricula won't before and found they like it Spend- ablethat teaching kids to conform with do is address the very real needs of the ing money (and valuable class time in social norms in the seventh grade re- small percentage of kids who get drunk this era of high-stakes academic test- duces the likelihood that a seventh or high because Chey are trying to re- ing) trying to reduce the prevalence of grader will drink alcohol, but that once lieve psychological and emotional pain substance use among the majority of kids are taught to conform to social caused by serious problems. Evidence youth who are unlikely ever to develop norms, when they get older they not culled from the 1997 National House- a substance abuse problem at the ex- only will drink alcohol, but will drink hold Survey on Drug Abuse by the Pa- pense of the small percentage of youth to get drunk if that is the normative cific Institute for Research and Evalu- with real problems that may even be behavior in eleventh grade. ationindicatesthatlessthan 3 percent aggravated by Cheir substance use be- lt is likely that abstinence promotion of 12- to 14-year-olds and a mere 12 haviors would be misguided. Alterna- intervention components workwell for percent of 15-to 17-year-olds consume fives to universal classroom-based drug over 80 percent ofthe alcohol imbibed education programs, like student as- some kids who are predisposed to not use substances (by reinforcing their by youths in their age groups. Many of sistance programs that provide coun- thesekids have been sexually molested, seling to troubled youth, may be a wiser negative attitudes toward drugs). These physically abused, or otherwise victim- investment of limited public resources. same interventions, however, may be ized and their use of alcohol and other (Endnotes -page 29) "Bu er B r " ~ ewa e rette use, has had mixed results with clearly stated rationales and whether than in critically reviewing the re- alcohol use, and has not been evalu- they were implemented effectively. search." ated in preventing use of harder drugs, While such factors may contribute to In the Department of Education's case, such as heroin, cocaine, or speed. program effectiveness, using such in- the panel identified 33 "promising" • Opinions of °ex ert noels" should puts rather than outputs-suchassta- P P tistically significant drops in drug use Programs and nine "exemplary" pro- beclosely scrutinized. For instance, the among the program participants - to grams for the Department of Educa- panel created by the Department of lion. The nine exemplary programs Education to evaluate 132 prevention define program effectiveness is prob- cited are: Athletes Training and Learn- lematic. `One problem with `expert programs did not focus on the effect of ing to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS), programs on substance use behaviors. panel' reviews," says a program analyst, CASASTART, Life Skills Training, OSLC Rather, the Education Department's ~^'ho wished to remain anonymous, "is Treatment Foster Care, ProjectALERT, that they often consist of an old boy panel determined which programs network more interested in maintain- Project Northland-Alcohol Prevention were exemplary by assessing whether ing funding for prevention programs program content and processes had (Continued on page I1) THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY - S A new study finds.... ~ We Wasted Bi on D.A.R.E: By Edward Shepard, Ph.D. E of d epardisanassociateprofessorandchairoftheLeMoyne C e t Economics. He is also a ReconsiDer member who has mce D.A.R.E. first opened in Los bee onomic evaluations ofdrug policy issues forseveral years. s schools in 1983, it has grown Dr. Shep has over two decades' experience in conducting economic studies ational curriculum. According and rece d his doctoral degree in Economics from Boston College, Areas of . .E. America and the U.S. De- specialization are microeconomics,laboreconomics,cost-benefrtresearch, and partment of Justice, almost 50,000 po- applied productivity studies. He has authored or coauthored papers that have lice officers have been trained for the appeared in Industrial Relations, Working USA, the International Journal of program since its inception, and are Manpower, the Journal of Housing Economics, and Public Finance Quarterly. teaching classes in over 10,000 commu- Dr. Shepard has presented research findings at several national conferences, nifies and in over 300,000 classrooms including the 1999 and 2001 Drug Policy Foundation conferences. Prior work in all 50 states. By the late 1990s, the on drug testing and productivity received attention in the national press in program reached an estimated 80 per- articles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Morning cent of school districts nationwide. News. He also provided input into theACLUreport on drug testing in the work- place and was interviewed about the economics of drug testing on National The extensive use of D.A.R.E. in the Public Radio. Dr. Shepard is married, with three children in the public school nation's schools points to the need for systems in Central New York He may be reached at Shepard@mail.lemoyne.edu. an economic evaluation of the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of the pro- gram. Are law enforcement and edu- cational resources being utilized effi- of D.A.R.E., but focuses instead on esti- significant uncertainty, and a wide ciently by the program? Does it gen- mating the program's economic costs. range of conflicting estimates, about er<ite benefits for the community and Over the past decade there have been a the costs or resources that are used to society at large? Are alternative pro- number of studies that address effec- support the program. This provided the grams more effective or less costly in tiveness issues but, as mentioned ear- central motivatiorrfor the research that achieving the goals of reducing illicit tier, no formal scientific study of eco- is summarized in my report - drug use or abuse? In recent years nomic costs. Yet information on eco- LeMoyneCollege Instituteoflndustrial there have been scientific evaluations nomic costs should be an important Relations Research Paper Number 22, of the program that found that D.A.R. E. part of a comprehensive evaluation of November 2001, The Economic Costs has not succeeded in reducing illicit the D.A.R.E. program. Economists hold ofD.A.R.E. My goal in conducting this drug use among young people.' (See that the economic merits of a program study was to provide reasonable esti- Are We Doing Enough, page 2 of this can be evaluated by applying cost-ben- mates of the economic costs ofthe pro- issue.} Since this is its major goal and efit and cost-effectiveness analyses. In gram. In this exclusive article for The purpose, this suggests that there may acast-benefit analysis, the economic ReconsiDer Quarterly, I am reporting be no direct benefits at all for commu- costs and benefits of a particular pro- the estimates arrived at by this study, nines from participation in the pro- gram are quantified to determine and reviewing the research method gram. There is even less information whether net benefits are generated and and overall findings. I hope that this about the costs ofD.A.R.F.,andnofor_ ~^'hethersocietyisbetteroffwithapro- information will prove valuable to mat scientific studies of D.A.R.E. costs gram than without it. In acost-effec- other researchers, who might wish to are currently available. Since D.~A.R.E. five analysis, two or more alternative evaluate D.A.R.F,.'s cost-benefit orcost- isFundedprimarilythroughtaxdollars, Programs are evaluated to determine effectiveness issues. (The complete it is essential that reliable information which is most efficient-that is, which study is available at www.reconsider. about bath costs and benefits be ob- Program achieves the program goals at org, or by contacting Shepard@mail. twined to evaluate the overall efficacy lowest cost. To do either analysis, reli- lemoyne.edu.) of the program. ahle information on economic costs is The study found that the estimated needed. There is, however, no central- annual economic costs of D.A.R.E., na- This article does not address the ized 'accounting of the funds used in tionwide, are between $1 billion and bLroader concerns of the effectiveness D.A.R.E. programs, and thus there is ~ THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY $1.3 billion, or close to $200 per stu- D.A.R.E.Americareportsthateachyear training provided through three- to dent each year. This is significantly approximately 3,000 police officers are four-day training courses. higher than numbers that are tom- trained to administer the program. monly reported in the press.° These Their four regional training centers are ll.A.R.E. officers also visit grades K-4 casts should be taken into account by funded by an annual $1.7 million U.S. to introduce the program to young local communities, school districts, Department of Justice grant. In addi- children and warn them about strang- and participating law enforce- ers and illegal drugs, and gar- ment organizations when de- litigate in other events, includ- ciding whether to adopt or ingafter-school programs, par- ent programs, fund-raising continue a local D.A.R.F.. pro- ~;yai dinners and dances, events gram. with recreation or entertain- Overview Of the ment, presentations, and pic- D.A.R.E. Program nits. A fact sheet prepared by ~ Multiple Funding Source D.A.R.E. for the LLS. Depart- ment of Justice re orted that Funding for local programs p "fir' comes from many sources, in- the program expected to reach VI"fit eluding the federal govern- abou[ 8.5 million elementary 4,~~ ment, state and local govern- school children in the year ments, individual school dis- 1999. 7Wenty-five million ad- ditional children were ex- tricts,localandstatepolicede- pected to benefit from a range partments, corporate dona- of 0.A.R.E. activities, including lions, asset seizures, ande ari- visits to other grades, after- ous fund-raising events. Ac- school activities, and parent cording to the Office of Na- programs. D.A.R.E. America tional Drug Control Policy currently reports that within (ONDCP), $41 million in fed- the United States more than 26 eral support was provided to million children will benefit the program in a recent year." from the programs, with ap- In addition, the U.S. Depart- proximately one quarter (or ment of Justice has provided 6.5 million) participating in law enforcement assistance the core elementary school grants. These can be used to programs provide resources needed bylo- tion, 46 states have their own training cal law enforcement agencies Exaggerated Estimates centers that have received funding to support the D.A.R.E. program. These estimates appear to be exagger- from different sources? Officials in the [LS. Department of Edu- ated, however. Information about the cation, who administer over $500 mil- school-agepopulation provided by the The 17-week course for elementary lion of Safe Schools federal grant U.S. Department of Education and the (5th or 6th grade) school students uses money to state education and gover- U.S. Census suggests that 4 million is trained law enforcement officers to Hors' offices, do not know and do not probably a more reasonable estimate teach D.A.R.E. lessons in the classroom. keep records of how much goes tosup- Middle and high school courses have „ of the number of children in the core port the D.A.R.E. program. A 1992 program within the United States.fi been introduced in many communities survey of local D.A.R.E. administrators to reinforce the core messages first indicated that almost 50 percent of D.A.R. F,. America is a nonprofit tax-ex- taught in the 5th or 6th grades. To empt organization that controls the teach in the core program, an officer them obtained some funding from the training and curriculum for law en- must attend atwo-week training pro- Department of Education. However, forcement officers to provide education gram at a state or regional training ten- state and local government officials in the schools about illicit drugs. [t ter. To participate in the middle school may now be reluctant to use Safe also markets and provides support and Schools grants to support D.A.R.E., (10-week) or high school (9-week) pro- partly because it is not among the pro- technical assistance for the program, gram, officers must have additional licenses merchandise vendors, and grams demonstrated to be effective, conducts assessment and research. based on the Department's °Principles of Effectiveness"'~ THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLI~ Local D.A.R.E. administrators some- America estimates the annual costs of • D.A.R.E. uses trained law enforcement times rely nn corporate donations and the officer services to be about $215 officers to teach the program in the fund raising events to help cover costs million." There is uncertainty about schools, and so the costs of officer ser- ortopay forpromotional merchandise, the real costs because there is no cen- vices are part of the economic costs. such as the D.A.R.E. automobile, and tralizedaccountingofthefunds,expen- The costs of officer services include the the bumper stickers, T-shirts, caps, ditures, and resources used to support wages and salaries and benefits (such jackets, and bags available from li- the program. The decision to use as insurance, retirement, vacations, censed vendors. Some police depart- D.A.R.E. is made by local school dis- health coverage, etc.) as well as the menu consider D.A.R.E. to be an im- tricts, and the needed resources are costs of equipment,transportation,ad- portantpart of community policing or provided for by local city or town bud- ministration, and supervision. community relations, and this leads gets, local school districts, or local po- them to contribute officer services for lice departments. These offices, in turn, 'There are costs of training the offic- the program. A ers in the four regional and 46 state 1997 report by the training centers, Research Triangle Estimated annual COStS ran Q which include Institute, which 9 the costs of the surveyed local ais- between $1 billion and $1.3 billion and trai°ers' materi- tricts during the als and equip- early to mid 1990s, Qre Sl9'~Z1fICQrltlZ•/ greQter tj1Q~1 trainting areaof found that "for •7 ,.j , most districts in LUIIQt 1S repOrteU In tl1E ~7YeSS... and the salaries the study and hotel 'and D.A.R.E. programs living expenses were supported wholly or in part by the have access to state or federal support of the officers local or state enforcement agencies."'" through a variety of programs. during the training program. There have been a series of negative Research nn the economic costs should 'General and administrative costs as- evaluations of the program, and re- be an important part of a comprehen- sociated with program development, Gently, Oakland, California; Seattle, sive evaluation of the program. Mea- refinement, coordination, research and Washington; Salt Lake City, Utah; and surement of the economic costs of a assessment, and supervision must also Rochester, New York, have dropped program requires an evaluation of the be counted. The program is controlled it.15 However, D.A.R.E. remains ex- value of resources that are devoted to by D.A.R.E.America, which markets the tremely popular, and any shortfall in it instead of the "next best" alternative Program, licenses tfie D.A.R.E. vendors, state or federal funding is made up uses (the opportunity cost principle). modifies or refines the curriculum over from other sources, including local Thus, actual expenditures and account- time, coordinates the training of offic- police departments, local school dis- ing costs of a program normally com- ers, conducts research and assess- tricts, and city, town, and county bud- prise a part but not all of the economic menu, and provides technical assis- gets. In some communities, officers costs. For the purpose of estimating tance and instructional materials to have used their own vehicles to pro- economic costs, it does not matter communities. The resources used by vide transportation for the program; in whether compensation is provided for D,A.R.E. America in performing these other communities, seized vehicles a resource or whether there were do- functions are part of the economic have been reconditioned to become of- nated•services or contributions. In eco- costs. The administration and coordi- ficers' D.A.R. E. cars. Once adopted, the nomics there is never a free lunch, and nation of the program also involves state program -because of its popularity resources being used for one purpose agencies, and most states have one or with parents, students, and local law cannot then be used for another. For more coordinators as well as a D.A.R.E. enforcement agencies - is often diffi- example, when a local police depart- training center. These costs must also cult to drop. ment offers the services of an officer be included. to D.A.R.F.., or whena local school pro- • There are costs of materials and sup- At 1Nh3t COSt? vides class time for D.A.R.E. programs, plies - D.A.R.E. workbooks and items Prior estimates of the costs of D.A.R.E, that officer cannot be out on patrol, and such as T-shirts, caps, pencils, bumper provided by investigative journalists for that classroom cannot be used for art, stickers, and other items that may be the popular press, have varied widely, music, or other educational purposes. provided to students in the program. ranging from about $200 million to close to $1 billion annually.1e D.A.R.G. The economic costs of D.A.R.E. can be • Finally, there are costs of the educa- grouped into five general categories: tional resources the program uses. Les- p sons are taught in schools with the w_-_-7HE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY classroom teacher normally present, 30 percent of total compensation, or mated 3,000 officers trained during taking valuable time away from teach- $17,143. Estimated total compensation each of the last few years, training costs ing academic topics. Determining the is therefore $57,143.2° General and ad- are estimated to be about $12 million average cost of a school year provides ministrative expenses, including super- annually.22 Because this is a compara- a way to estimate this cost. visory, overhead, and equipment and tively minor amount, an error in this To estimate all the economic costs, it transportation costs, are likely to add estimate will not significantly infiu- is necessary to have reliable estimates at least 20 percent to total compensa- ence total estimated costs. tion, or $11,429. Thus, the full cost of of the number of participating officers a D.A.R.E. officer is $68,572 per year. General and administrative costs: and school children nationwide, the D.A.R.E.Americahasastaffofabouttwo number of school classroom hours de- Multiplying this value by the estimated dozen professionals who are respon- voted to D.A.R.E. activities, and the number of full-time equivalent offic- Bible for designing, implementing, costs per student of materials,supplies, ers nationwide yields an estimated overseeing, licensing, and marketing and merchandise provided. Since there value of officer services between 537 the program. D.A.R.E. America is a is no formal or centralized accounting million and 635 million dollars per nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of D.A.R.E. activities, in conducting our year. This number is more than double that is supported primarily by corpo- study we estimated costs using infor- the value estimated by ll.A.R.E. rate donations, contributions, royalties mation from a number of sources, in- America. from the sales of D.A.R.F.. merchandise, eluding the U.S. Departments of Edu- and a small amount of federal funds. cation and Justice, the Bureau of ha_ When the annual cost of officers is di- The overall operating budget for bor Statistics, state D.A.R.E. offices vided by the estimated number of Btu- D.A.R.E. America provides a good basis (New York and Maryland), and D.A.R.E. dents served in the elementary, middle, for estimating its costs. According to America. A complete description of the and high school programs, the esti- D.A.R.E. America, the overall budget is mated costs range between $90 and basis for the estimates used here is con $127 per student. This is consistent about $9 million.23 During a recenttax tained in the LeMoyne College report. with reports from communities around year (1998), D.A.R.E. America reported As shown in the report, the total num- the country, but accounts for only an annual income of about $11.5 mil- ber ofchildren enrolled inthe elemen- about half of the economic costs asso- hon. tary program is estimated to be close dated with the D.A.R. E. program. Some of the funds or grants for re- to 4 million. An estimated 3.3 to 3.9 search and training that are received million classroom hours and 72 mi]- Officer training costs: Officers teach- are awarded to subcontractors or to the lion student hours are devoted to the ing in the core program must gradu- regional training centers to support of- core program. One to two million ad- ate from atwo-week training course at ficer training. A number of ditional children are esti- mated to be in the middle researc'~ and evaluation studies have been funded by or high school programs. ,,,students and the community states, the U.S. government, The number of full-time or private foundations. Last equivalent D.A.R.E. officers received no measurable year, for example, a grant nationwide is estimated to for $13.7 million from the bebetween7,838and9,264. benefit from participation In Robert Woad Johnson This information was used Foundation was awarded to to estimate the annual eco- the pYOgYQm.... the University of Akron for nomic costs of D.A.R.E. na- a five-year study to evaluate tionwide. and redesign the D.A.R.E. curriculum25 a regional or state training center. The The costs of research, evaluation, as- National Estimates of the U.S. Department of Justice provides Economic Costs of D.A.R.E.: $1.7 million each year to D.A.R.E. sessment, and redesign of the curricu- A Summary of Findings America, which uses the funds for lum should be included as part of the Cost of officer services: According to training at four regional training cen- economic costs of the program. A cost the U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics data, ters located throughout the country. of about $3 million per year appears the average wages and salaries of full- In addition, 46 states have established reasonable and is a very small part of time atrol officers nationwide is a - the overall cost of the program. p P their own training centers. The esti- proaching $40,000 per year.19 Benefits mated cost of training a D.A.R.E. officer Most states have offices with state em- for insurance, retirement, health cov- is about $4,000?' In many cases the ployees or law enforcement officers eaage, and so forth, are usually about training is paid for, at feast in part, by who serve as D.A.R.E. coordinators. federal or state funds. With an esti- THE RECONSIDER QUARTERL~9 These offices typically serve as inter- Information on expenditures came ties) for about 180 days a year, they can mediaries between local school dis- from D.A.R.E. officers and newspaper be expected (barring illness and absen- tricts or local law enforcement agen- reports from around the country. Ina teeism) to spend on average of between cies and D.A.R.E. America. Functions rural county in New York State, a local 1,080 and 1,260 hours a year involved include overseeing or coordinating the D.A.R.E. officer estimated that the with school activities. Dividing the es- state training centers and collecting county had spent approximately$5-$7 timated annual cost per student data from local school districts or po- per student enrolled in the core course ($7,000) by the range of hours spent lice departments participating in the over the past few years. Other sources yearly in the classroom yields an esti- program. A reportby the Research Tri- indicated that there is variation in mate of the cost per student per hour angle Institute in 1992 indicated that spending depending on available fund- of between $5.56 and $6.48. With a states spend close to $300,000, on av- ing, with some communities spending national average class size of 24 stu- erage, on these activities. With 50 more and some less 30 Based on this dents, this means that a classroom states, this yields an estimated national information, $5-$10 in materials costs hour has implicit costs ofbetween $133 cost of about $15 million.26 per student appears to be a reasonable and $156 per hour.'t A D.A.R.E. class Adding up the costs of that used 18 hours would thlS SL[ eStS that the "cosy' between $2,394 and D.A.R.E. America, re- Q'(~' $2,808 in estimated value of search and evaluation, and coordination of the prOg'rQn1 has been COSth,/. educational resources.33 With D.A.R.E. program by 7 an estimated 3.3 to 3.9 million states, the economic cost ineffective, and possibly hours in the classroom used annually for the program na- for this part of the tionally, this means that the D.A.R.E. program is esti- CQUnter productive estimated economic costs of mated to be about $27 educational resources for the million. This amount is estimate. With an estimated 4 million program are between $438.9 million likely to vary from year to year, but it students in the elementary school pro- and $608.4 million. should remain a very small part of the gram, and 1-2 million additional stu- total economic cost. dents in the middle and high school Cost Summary D.A.R.E. materials and supplies: The programs, the total cost is estimated The cost estimates of this study are cost includes the workbooks and mer- to be between $25 and $60 million an- summarized and totaled in the sidebar chandise typically provided to D.A.R.E. nually. (see page 11). Estimated annual eco- students. The workbooks and course Value of educational resources used for nomic costs range between $1 billion materials are a small part of the cost and $1.3 billion per year and are sig- Qess than $1 per student), but other the program: One cost that is usually nificantly greater than what is com- items are more expensive. Pencils, not included in newspaper reports is monly reported in the press using in- caps, shirts, jackets, bags, bumper the economic cost of the educational formation provided by D.A.R.E. The stickers are available at prices ranging resources used by the program. There value of officer services and the costs from pennies to $40 or more. The is no accounting information for this of educational resources used by the amount spent per child varies signifi- cost because there are no formal ex- program account for the bulk ofthese penditures for classroom time when candy, depending on the community costs and therefore deserve greater and the funds available to support the school is in session. Nevertheless, the scrutiny. If the programs are as wide- program. Only a minimal expense For cost should be accounted for because spread as claimed by U.A.R.E. America, instructional materials is needed to classroom time devoted to U.A.R.E. these estimates could he biased down- conduct a D.A.R.E. class, and a few com- could have been (but is not) allocated ward. With an estimated five to six mil- munities, including New York City, for other educational activities. Edu- lion students enrolled in D.A.R.E. provide little else.' Expenditures on cation costs are now approaching courses, the economic costs of the pro- $7,000 per student annually; this D.A.R.E. merchandise are not reported, amount includes the costs of school gram are estimated to be $173 to $268 and licensed D.A.R. E. vendors consider buildin 5 and rounds, maintenance per student annually. the information confidential." How- and uti ties, teaching and administra- Scientific research ofthe program pro- ever, during a recent tax year (1998), lion, equipment and supplies, transpor- vides information needed to assess its D.A.R.E. America reportedly earned over $2,500,000 in license royalties.'L9 tat~on, and after-school activities. heneflts. Many evaluations, however, Because students are in school, on av- show a neuh~al or negative effect ofthe ernge, for 6-7 hours a day (including D.A.RF.. program. (As a result, D.A.R.E. transportation and after-school activi- is no longer included on the list of ap- ~ I O THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY proved programs, based on the "prin- research. In choosing among alterna- ing the allocation of resources used fm~ ciples of effectiveness" by the U.S. De- five programs, the most cost-effective drug education. (Endnotes-pages 29 partment of Education.) The evalua- program -that which provides the and back cover.) tionsthathavebeen donesuggestthat greatest benefit per dollar cost - the students and the community are should provide the basis for determin- receiving no measurable benefit from participation in the program. From an economic {perspective, this suggests • that the program should be discontin- • • • • ~ ued because it is costly, ineffective, and possibly counterproductive. However, even if D.A.R.li. generated benefits of the magnitude needed to justify the costs of its program, it is still • ' • ~ important to compare its cost-effective- , ~ ; , Hess with that of other programs. A ~ , number of alternative programs have - been developed that appear promising based on the findings of preliminary Buyer Beware! (Continued from page 5) Curriculum, Project TN.T-Towards No fects on adolescent violence had not for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco Use, Second Step: A Violence been evaluated. This occurred because Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin- Prevention Curriculum, and Strength- the Blueprints for Violence Prevention quency Prevention, Center for Mental ening Families Program: For Parents were based broadly on preventing de- Health Services, National Institute of and Youth 10-14. In the case of Life linquency, which included cigarette Mental Health, and the U.S. Depart- Skills Training, the program developer, smoking, not on preventing violence. ment of Education to decide how to Gilbert Botvin, also served on the panel So LST came to be known as an "evi- use current drug prevention research of experts. deuce-based" violence prevention pro- to build the best programs. • In selecting programs, schools gram, even though there was no evi- What did they conclude?"Thatwedon't should also beware of the term, "best deuce that it prevented violence. know enough about what works to even Whether or not it reduces violence practice." "Thereare numerous lists of doesn't matter. It's still considered an begin talking about moving effective `evidence-based practices' and `best evidence-based best practice. programs into practice," says Roona, practices' in drug prevention," says who was a summit participant. "The Michael Roona, executive director of To date, there has been only one major research is too thin to do that." Social Capital Development Corpora- nongovernmental effort to identify ef- tion. The problem is, programs that le- fective top prevention practices -the So what is a school district, commu- gitimately land on one list may find "Prevention 2000: Moving Effective oily, or family to do? One factor that their way onto lists where they don't Programs into Practice" summit, or- does seem to be consistent is that belong. For instance, the success of ganized by The Robert Wood Johnson Youths do best when they're kept busy Botvin's Life Skills 1Yaining (LST) pro- Foundation, the largest nongovern- Pursuing long-term goals that also re- gram in smoking prevention landed it mental funder in the substance abuse cult in personal development. Old-fash- in the National Institute of Drug arena. This summit (and follow-up coned after-school sports, arts, aca- Abuse's 1997 guide, PreaentingDrug conference calls and meetings) demic,andcommunityprograms-as UseAmongChildren and Adolescents: brought two dozen of the nation's top well as involved, nurturing parents- AResearch-Based Guide. But LST also prevention researchers together with may be the beltway to divert kids from found its way onto the "Blueprints for the heads ofall the federal agencies that temptations like drugs. Violence Prevention" list of recom- fund prevention programs -Center mended programs, even though its ef- for Substance Abuse Prevention, Na- tional Institute on Drug Abuse, Center THE RECONSIDER QUARTERL~ Mayor Rocky Anderson Talks About What It's Like to... Drop the D.A. R. E. Program An Interview with the Mayor Editor's Note: Salt Lake City, Utah, Mayor Ross C. "Rocky"Anderson took of- by Alexandra Eyle Rce on January 3, 2000, after spending 21 years as an attorney specializing in civil litigation. One of his first acts as mayor was to cut the city's D.A.R.E. pro- grams and to urge the schools to use more ef(eetiae drug education/prevention Q: Why did you decide to cut D.A.R.E. programs. He also established other programs(oryouths, including alter-school from your schools? and arts programs. !n this exclusive interview with ReconsiDer Quarterly edi- torAlexandra Eyle, Anderson talks about what it was like to end D.A.R.E. and A: I had written a column for a local the challenges that lie ahead. Mayor Anderson may be reached through his newspaper about this issue, about two assistant, Christy Cordwell, at 801-535-7743 oral christy.cordwellC~cislc.ut.us. years before I was elected. After I be- came mayor, [updated my research. ] studied the literature and found that reviewed 132 programs, reviewers in- esting that, now that even D.A.R.E. of- there were numerous peer-reviewed chided program developers, and not ficials themselves admit that the pro- research articles establishing that statisticians. gram has not been effective, and when D.A.R.E. had no effect on long-term the Surgeon General and the Depart- drug use. A: The problem has been that the pub- ment of Education have rendered the lished research has been by the people same sorts of findings, people still Q: As a citizen, and as a mayor, as some- who have created the programs. Life one who was investing tax money in Skills Training, for instance, appears to Proudly drive their cars around with D.A.R.E., how did that make you feel? be an outstanding program, but, un- D.A.R.E. bumper stickers on them. A: I was -and still am -convinced that fortunately, almost all of the research We have a big Pion~,er Days parade here the American people had been badly has been done by Gilbert Botvin, the every July 24th, and the first year [was betrayed. D.A.R.E. had created, through director of Life Skills. I understand that in that parade there were pockets of its public relations efforts, including t- there are two independent evaluations people along the parade route wearing shirts and bumper stickers and such, being conducted now on Life Skills D.A.R.E. t-shirts and the mothers were the sense, among the public, that we 7Yaining and I hope that the outcomes chanting, "We want D.A.R.E." I'd also were really doing something by utiliz- in those research projects will be as go to community meetings and, when ing D.A.R.E. in our public schools to Positive as Dr. Botvin's have been. challenged about canceling D.A.R.E., 1 reduce long-term drug use in our pub- Q; you ended all the D.A.R.E. programs would lay out the research and show lic schools. The net result has been lost in 2000? them the unequivocal findings that and ruined lives, many of which could showed the ineffectiveness of the pro- have been saved through the utiliza- A: Yes. gram. There were times when people lion of effective drug prevention pro- Q; How did you go about communicat- would look at me in astonishment and rams. I'm not sim I a amst D.A.R.E.; shake their heads and say, "I don't be- g ` P Y g ~ ing the failures of D.A.R.E. and your vi- lieve itP' I'm for effective programs. Sion for the future. Were your constitu- Q: Which programs are you thinking ents resistant at first? Q: The old, "Don't confuse me with the of, when you speak of effective pro- A; yes. And they are still resistant. It's facts!" response! grams? As far as 1 know, none have virtually impossible, no matter how A: Exactly. And my response was, "This been objectively peer reviewed by in- many times you speak out on this is- isn't religion. This happens to be sci- dependent researchers, and although sue, regardless of how much the me- ence. Unless you can show something the Department of Education recently dia treats the issue, to overcome the that demonstrates that D.A.R.E.'s effec- huge public relations campaign can- live, how can you say that we're really ducted by D.A.R.E. I find it really inter- pursuing drug prevention when we're 1 T THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY actually filling up these time slots and A: They have put in theATLAS program, American people. Now, they've com- using our resources on something for male high school athletes. And pletely lost credibility, but instead of that's proven to be ineffective?" But there's an experimental program called letting them use 37,000 more of our there's a huge emotional component Athena for female high school athletes. school kids as their guinea pigs as they to this, and D.A.R.F,. knows it That's Besides these programs, they have a revamp their program, we ought to be why they have all their t-shirts and sort of homegrown program, called replacing them with programs that their feel-good approach. Prevention Dimension, but it hasn't have integrity and are effective. You know, when ou talk about how been evaluated. I've been urging the y school board and the superintendent And we need to have a goal of not just ineffective D.A.R. E. is as a drug pro- to put in place a comprehensive grade keeping kids off drugs entirely but also gram, D.A.R.E. advocates fall back on 5 through 12 drug prevention program reducing the harm to those kids who that's research-based and effective. do try drugs. And that's something that justdrivesalotofpeoplenuts-to even _ ~I~~~ Q: Do you have one in particular in admit that some kids will do drugs no mind? matter what programs are offered to A: The two that I've recommended are them. But Ithink aharm-reduction the STAR and Life Skills programs. approach is far more honest and is go- ing to be far more effective in saving Q: Md do you think they'd adopt them? lives and in promoting the interests of A: I don't know. lt's astounding to me everybody, including taxpayers. that everybody gets so riled up about Q: What has been the response of other drug use, but the school board does not mayors to you? seem all that concerned about putting A: I spoke to a group of municipal lead- into place programs that seem to re- erswhereonemayortoldmethatwhen ally work. he raised the issue with his city coun- Q: Why do you think that is? cil as to the advisability of evaluating A: You know, I read a book years ago the effectiveness of D.A.R.E., there was by Mathea Falco called ADrug-Free such a public outcry that he had no America, and she pointed out that one option but to back down. Some may- of the reasons for D.A.R.E.'s popularity ors, after the evidence came out as to may be the fact that school adminis- how ineffective D.A.R.E. has been, still trators and faculty can simply wash stand by their programs. That's truly their hands of the program and turn it cowardly politics. Anybody who takes over to the police. They don't have to a look at the literature will understand be accountable, and they don't have to that by utilizing D.A.R. F.. we're depriv- do anything to confront the need for mg kids of effective drug prevention. drug prevention. Q: At quite a cost. Q: Ifyou were to give advice to a mayor A: At a huge cost. Both in lives, and wanting to do what you've done, what monetarily. In Salt Lake City, we were the argument, "Well, isn't it great to advice would you give? spending $289,000 annually on the of- have the police build up a relationship ficers' salaries, vehicles, and equip- with the students?" I a ree with that. I A: First, become familiarwith all of the g research in the area. 71,vo, learn to com- ment. There have been estimates that think having officers in the schools is over $700 million a year nationwide has a very good thing. But that begs the municate very clearly the rationale for been spent on D.A.R.E. (See We Wasted question: "What about drug preven- terminating the D.A.R.E. program. I did Billions on D.A.R.E., page 6.) tion?" That's why D.A.R.E. was there in not do this well, but you need to em- the first place. phasize the positives -that what you Q: This has been a hot issue for you, want to do is put in place programs that and you will no doubt take some bash- Q: As mayor, you don't control the work. You want to get away from the ing in the next election for taking this schools, so it's up to the elected school message that it's a termination of on. Are you glad you did it anyway? board to put new programs into place. D.A.R. E. A: I am always glad to do the right What program or programs is it install- ing in the schools? D.A.R.E. has built up their infrastruc- thing. ture through a huge fraud on the THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY) 3 On Reinventing Drug Education, Especially for Adolescents ROdney Skager, Ph.D. Editor's Note: Rodney Skager is Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at DCLA. He served for 10 years as pro- ~ here is no doubt about it Fed- gram director at the School's Center for the Study of Evaluation and while on erP drug education programs have academic leave served as senior researcher at the UNESCO /nstitute ofEduca- fail~d. The government is spending lion in Hamburg, Germany (1975-76J. He has been a consult¢nt or part-time between 1 and 1.3 billion a year try- staff member at WestEd (formerly Southwest Regional Educational Labora- ing, through its D.A.R.E. program, to tort') since 1992. get kids to stop using drugs.' The data In 198.5 he was asked by California Attorney General John Van de Kamp to regularly show that students continue develop and adminlsterasecondaryschoolsurveyofsubstanceuseandrelated to use drugs despite abstinence-based, information (California Student Substance Use Survey). The survey was later zero-tolerance drug education pro- mandatedasabiennialeffortbytheCalifornialegislatureandnowisalsospon- grams. Bored by the California Department of Education and Alcohol and Drug Pro- Last year an annual national survey, grams. WestEd, ¢ nonprokt California educational R&D organization, has ad- Monitoring the Future, reported that ministered the survey since 19.91 and Dr. Skager has continued as its co- 54 percent of American 12th-graders director. In addition, he served as outside evaluator for the Addiction Technol- had tried an illicit drug at least once in ogy Transfer Center at OC San Diego on a long-term project sponsored by the their lifetime.2 Forty-nine percent had Center for Substance Abuse 7Yeatment and also as Principallnvestigatorfnr a tried marijuana. The true rates of use national project sponsored by the Center for Substance Use Prevenh'on. The are probably higher, however. Even on latter incorporated developmental programs addressing children and parents anonymous surveys, self-reported use irr substance abusing families and adolescent mothers. is likely to be somewhat lower than Dr. Skager has published research articles and reports on school-based identi- true rates of use, because not all re- hcationandinterventionprograms(orchildren(romolegjrolanddrugabusiny spondents will be willing to report il- families, self-esteem and substance use, school characteristics associated with legal behavior even under conditions studentsubstance use, attributes ofhigh-risk adolescent substance users, and of apparent anonymity. prevention policy. He is a conlributinyedifor ofPrevention File and a member When teens are asked to estimate the oftheboardofdirecforsofthePhoenixHousesofCaliforniaaswellasaformer percentage of schoolmates of their own member of the research advisory board of `Just Say No"/nterrzational. He has age. who have tried marijuana, the taught measurement, research design andqualitahberesearchmethodsatthe numbers are much higher than the graduate level. His current teaching responsibilities include adolescent devel- percentagesobtainedfromself-report opmentandpreventioneducation.RodneySkagermaybereachedat831-484- surveys. In the latest California survey 2767or at rskager@redshiftcom. 72 percent of Ilth-graders believed that half or more of their peers had tried marijuana, while only 46 percent really are, and it is perception that es- toted people now feel that iYs not re- said they ever used it. Forty-four per- tablishes what is ordinary or normal. ally a serious drug. It's funny, iYs ac- cent believed half or more used Believingthatamajorityofone'speers cepted,weknowmostpeoplehavetried monthly, but only 26 percent said they have tried marijuana tends to legitima- it at some point, so it's not a bad drug." used it in the previous month!3 tize use of that drug, but this does not (This and later comments from young necessarily apply to other illicit drugs people in their late teens or early 2Os Some researchers dismiss youth esti- or to problematic use. As a third year were collected b mates of peer drug use, arguing that Y peer interviewers as university student observed, "We ac- part of an ongoing study of youth atti- they exaggerate actual prevalence Iev- cept pot way more than other drugs. I tudes about, and experience with, els. In so doing, these researchers miss mean, you watch TVand there are jokes drugs.) the point entirely. Estimated peer use about pot. Everybody's laughing. Ifthey reFlectsyouthperceptionofhowthings talk about shooting up heroin, Most teenagers know things about A nobody's really laughing...most edu- drugs than they were never told inpre- ~ HE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY vention education. Consider what one teens can learn to be intelligent con- Indoctrination Does Not female college student said recently sumers. In deciding to buy their drugs Work in an Open Society about her initiation into the use of from the honor students, they were gy definition, education must be hon- marijuana at age 15. applying, at age 15, an important prin- est. But in embracing zero-tolerance "In high school drugs were around and ciple of harm reduction-getyour dope drug prevention education, teachers my friends and I knew where to get from a safe source. must exaggerate dangers. They must present only one side of the story. They must indoctrinate, in other words. - But indoctrination "works" only when students do not have access to contra- ~ dictory information. Unfortunately, on ' ~ ~ entering secondary school most teens '~~~i~"'' soon learn that many older students a~ enjoy drinking and using without suf- t~ ,.,,r„ F..,. , ~ fering significant negative conse- quences orprogressing toproblematic use. As a result, many students think that their teachers, by espousing the now discredited "gateway theory" and ignoring the fact that many people en- joy moderate use of alcohol, marijuana, _ and ecstasywithout ill effects, may also .F have exaggerated the dangers of using ` t• # cocaine or heroin." And once young 9~"~`"'"Fx ` people realize that they have been 9~" ~ conned by drug education, they often dismiss the entire message, including ~ 1 the valid dangers that they were warned ~ about. a ;r., Three False Assumptions Rod Skager, with Claudia Montero (r), a Undermine Current Drug former doctoral student ofSkager's and her The fact is, substance use has become Education Programs mother, Alicia. normalized among mainstreamAmeri- Zero tolerance drug education pro- canadolescents. Normalization means grams also fail miserably because they them. People accepted it as a part of that drugs are an accepted part of the are shaped by three erroneous assump- high school life. When I was in 10th culture in which most American ado- tions about youth development and grade, my friends and I were hanging lescents live. It means that users aswell socialization: teens use drugs because out after school. We decided that we as many nonusers accept experience they are nave; teens use drugs because wanted to smoke some pot, so we with drugs as normal. It means that a they feel bad about themselves; and walked around the quad and asked the substantial majority of older teens be- peer pressure forces teens to use drugs. people that knew about drugs where lieve that most of their same age peers we could get some. We went to the have tried marijuana and that student Assumption #1: Young people try drugs honor roll students who sold drugs. We leaders and other social icons have because they are naive. How can this didn't trust the stoners because they tried it and that many or most cur- be in a teen social environment replete probably laced their drugs. We bought rently use it. Substance use is firmly with all kinds of information about and smoked it that day. That was embedded in the teen social scene, part drugs and their effects? Like the lOth- the first time that I tried drugs." of the shared experience of both users graders buying marijuana, most teens and nonusers. learn a great deal about drugs by mid- The story provides a concrete example adolescence or even earlier. of just how easy it is for high school If drugs are part of the normal teen ex- students in California to obtain mari- perience in a country where billions of Another aspect of this assumption is Juana.Italsorevealsthatwithoutguid- tax dollars have been poured into pre- the widely prevailing view among ancefromadultsevenrelativelyyoung venting drug use, what happened? Where did we go wrong? THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY___ I S adults that even after puberty adoles- Assumption #2: Adolescents use ille- peers are doing.a Given the normaliza- cents remain in a biologically distinct gal drugs to erase negative feelings lion of substance use, itwould be more stage of development. It is this belief about themselves. All deficit hypoth- accurate to say that students begin us- that allows so-called experts to concoct eyes assume that most adolescents are ing drugs because they are modeling irrelevant or even patronizing forms of deficient in some way and drink or use behaviors that they perceive to be nor- preventioneducation that alienate and to feel better about themselves. Early mal or "cool." insult so many young people. programs targeted self-esteem, but re- search failed to support either their Nevertheless, the peer pressure hy- Human development specialists have efficacy or the assumption itself." Life pothesis has particular appeal for many long been aware that early in adoles- ski(Is education, the best-known cur- adults. After all, it makes adolescents cence most youth develop the capacity rent deficit program, targets deficits in themselves responsible for the problem to reason like adults. What Piaget la- self=efficacy. Yetthis approach has been and ignores the contributions of an beled as "formal reasoning" empowers found to be itself deficient in produc- adult society that adores drugs, them to think hypothetically and thus ing results.' Common sense also sug- whether illegal, pharmaceutical, or to question the world as it is. To edu- Bests otherwise. Many high school stu- derived from a process of fermentation. cators and parents, this means that Yet, insightful observers such as what adults say is Patricia Hersch in no longer taken ,,,teachers must exaggerate her book A Tribe for granted, espe- Apart have noted cially when con- dQngeYS...but indoctrination works only an atmosphere of trary informa- when Students d0 nOt JZQUB QCC2SS t0 COn- mutual tolerance, lion and opin- a do-your-own- ions are avail- tYQdiCtOrZ,J information....ifprevention is to thing ethic of per- able. This is why sonal relationships attempts to "in- wOYk, teaching must be honest. among adolescents oculate" elemen- today.RAs a college tary school chit- dentleaders-themostsuccessfulstu- student who had dren against later experimentation abstained from drug use reported, "My with substances have flo ed so re- dents in the high school social world PP -use alcohol and marijuana. In fact, friends offered marijuana because of soundingly once those children be- courtesy...because they felt obligated come adolescents. these social leaders belong to an elite since we were friends. However, they social group to which many ordinary David Moshman concludes in his re- students aspire to belong. It is espe- never teased me for not smoking." An- centtextbook that adolescence is best cially unlikely that these popular stu- other said, "Among my friends some understood as the first stage of adult- dents Iacksocial skills or thatthe icons People choose not to use (marijuana) hood. He presents evidence that the of high school athletics feel ignored and others do it. Andnobodythinksless crucial difference between adolescents and dismissed. of any other person."These kinds ofob- servationswere made frequently in the and adults is in accumulated life expe- Stories about alcohol and other drug interviews. rienc s rather than biological develop- use by student leaders are common in ment. This is consistentwith the long- the interviews. A graduating senior Members of all groups actively contrast known fact that by age 16 youth do as themselves with members of other woman recalled, "The president, vice- well on tests of intelligence as they ever groups. This process of defining just will. Adolescent and adult o ulations president, treasurer and athletes used p P marijuana. Most consumption of illicit how one's group is distinctive helps also overlap on critical indicators of fashion important facets of personal personal maturity. Significant num- drugs was done at parties. The teach- identity, especially beliefs and associ- bers of adolescents are better at antici- ers and administrators knew the iden- ated behavior. For man ~ oun patin conse uencesoftheirbehavior, titles of the drug users, but they >y gpeople, g q seemed to look the other way." to drink or use is to participate in a controlling impulses, and interper- ritual that affirms group identity. It is sonal skills than some adults who never Assumption #3: Kids use drugs because often a way of saying, "We are different achieve these hallmarks of maturity. their peers pressure them to do so. from adults. We do things that they Understanding and building on these Training inso-called "refusal skills"has forbid us to do." Unforhmately, the teen capabilities is crucial to creating been the antidote to this assumed fact. ways in which we go about prevention successful drug education programs. But research in both the U.S. and Brit- play directly into this process; by for- am supports the alternative explana- bidding use. we inadvertently encour- tion that kids simply like to imitate age it. - spontaneously what they believe their HE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY Zero-Tolerance Deterrent themselves, in the form of retaliation ness of helping resources in schools Punishment Fails, Too by the student. Thus, the harsh, puni- and communities. When our zero-tolerance prevention tive nature of the system forces com- education programs fail, we punish passionate people to become Drug prevention education can address drug users by suspending or expelling °enablers," by keeping silent. This "no- these and other pragmatic goals with- them from school -standard practice talk" rule invariably prevails when de- out giving permission to use, as those among schools throughout the United terrent punishment rather than assis- who defend the status quo invariably States. The idea is that such severe tance and ordinary discipline dorm- charge. In any case, kids do not ask punishment will frighten others and pates institutional policy toward those adults for permission to drink or use. deter them from using drugs. Yet this who break the rules. This approach recognizes that young approach has failed, in large part be- people are going to make choices about cause very few users are identified and Reinventing Drug how to live their own lives. It gives Education in a WOrld them tools with which to make in- caught Teens that do drugs do not ex- Where Drug Use Will Persist formed choices if they do decide to try pect to be caught, and many enjoy the drugs. adventure involved in doing something Drug prevention can and should be that adults forbid. reinvented. Not because a reinvented Interactive Teaching & Learning10 prevention would eliminate substance If revention is to work, teachin But there is a more negative effect of use in the adolescent population - P g must this policy. Suspension and expulsion drugs other than alcohol are heze to be honest and relationships between merely eject youthful offenders out of stay. Accepting this fact is the first step teachers and students authentic. This the classroom and onto the street. As out of the morass in which we find means that we must recognize and one university studentsaid, "Expulsion ourselves. value the experience of young people. is getting rid of the problem kids and We must encourage student participa- notgetting rid of the problem in those Starting with Realistic Goals tion and interaction. Predetermined, kids." Acknowledging thatillicitdrugusewill adult-delivered curricula work against Abetter approach would be for schools persist in this society relieves us from lock ste c ulrrihulumei noores the si a to apply consequences for al- Pursuit of the impossible. We are free nificance of th eteachable mo- coholand other drug use that meat, that information or ex- allow most students to re- ,,,adujt S~Ct2tt,/ Cill~~l'2S perience is best shared when main in school After all, stu- ~J it is relevant, when learners dents who are caught violat- C~rZ1Q`S, whether the Ql, want to knoov. ing the rules are not neces- y~ha~••maCet.~~ZCQ6' ~r p g sarily problematic users. Nor A lesson or ro ram is in- ane they automatically taus- dertUe~ frOrll Q prOC2SS Of teractive when the teacher ing harm to themselves or stimulates discussion and cre- others. As for those who are fermentatlOn. ates activities wherein teens most severely involved with can ask for the information drugs -they often drop out they need. Dialog is superior of school without having to be pushed to set more realistic and pragmatic to top-down teaching because it en- out. Applying reasonable and humane goals for prevention education. Let me courages active participation in the sanctions, including on-site suspen_ listafew: learning process. Adult facilitators can lions and exclusion from extracurricu- 'Delay age of first use. take it for granted that most teens have lar activities, may be sufficientfor teens 'Reduce (rather than eliminate) over- had their own encounters with drugs, who have not demonstrated problems all drug use. even if they have abstained from use. in living associated with substance use. 'Help students to understand that They deserve honest, straightforward there are bad times and places to do answers to their questions. Another problem with deterrent pun- drugs. •Thefacilitatormustbeacredibleand ishment is that it prevents concerned Reduce problematic use including people from reporting students whom bingeing, mixing drugs, using un- reliable sourceof information. Teenag- theysuspect are using drugs. Teachers known or impure substances. ens participating in focus groups in a and worried peers dare notreportwhat • Promote responsibility for self and California study conducted by Joel they see for fear ofsevere consequences others and related knowledge about (a) Brown and his colleagues frequently to the student in question - or to signs of abuse and dependency,(b)how expressed doubts about the expertise to approach and assist people showing of their prevention teachers," The fa- signs ofproblematicuse, and (c) aware- THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY) 7 cilitator must demonstrate ai the out- and expulsion. The program may be as- for any programs that approach sub- set an understanding of the culture of sociated with the school or with a com- stance use honestly and openly. In ad- druguse, be able to use the drugwords munity organization. Both should be dition, it may 6e that most schools as in use among teenagers, and accept located in a place that protects the ono- we know them cannot provide the type that many students associate alcohol nymity of students who are referred. of learning process proposed here. and other drugs with positive experi- They may lack teachers who are com- ences. Barriers to implementation of fortable with truly interactive learning Interactive Learning Programs situations, or who have internalized • The approach must benon judgmen- The barriers to the implementation of the knowledge that is required when tal. The facilitator understands that these ro owls and identif yin the participants will make their own p p 1 g predetermined,lock-step curricula are kinds of adults who can make them abandoned. Community agencies inde- choices about drugs. Safety rather than work should notbe underestimated. 9b pendent of schools may be a morn ap- morality isthetheme. Reducing harm- begin with, current federal guidelines propriate venue. But the issue, at least fuldruguseanddevelopingrationalde permit funding for abstinence-based in my view, is not whether we do these cision-making skills are legitimate ro ramsonl Su goals for teens who are heavily in- p g Y• pPortisnotavailable things, but when and how. volved with drugs but are as yet un- willing to accept abstinence as a solu- tion. I • Ordinarily information is offered in ~ „ 1 ~ , response to questions asked bythe stu- ` dents. Attempting to convince many teenagers that they should not use ~ drugs is usually counterproductive. Instead, facilitators should concentrate ~*""v ia~*~.~k:., y on giving complete information on drugs including specifics such as what "~;`F~~ drugs are and their effects, keeping ~ ~ ersonal safet m mind, ublic olic and the legal implications of use, how b~ = a- to identify problem users, and the sig- ;~;i , nificance of personal development and social responsibility. fix:{+~.5' Helping Teens ~ ~jt~ Who Are in Trouble with Alcohol or Illicit Drugs Good teachers are likely to be ap- i.~'° ~`:''4 proached by students seeking help for their drug problem, whether it is with , . alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs. They s cannot turn away at this critical mo- .y ~ i~,,rr ment. They must know how to inter- u~ ~ vene effectively, and connect the child to appropriate resources or agencies in ' the school and community. Ideally, there should be a substance abuse counselor at the school to whom the classroom facilitator can refer problem ~ ~ i ~ 1 users. All schools should offer a Shldent As- sistance Program for such students. This is the compassionate and socially responsible alternative to suspension FL_-THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY Recommended Reading: AFTER PROHIBITION: AN ADULT APPROACH TO DRUG POLICIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY Timothy Lynch, Editor Cato Institute 2000 Paper. 193 pp. $ 18.95 By Kevin 8. Zeese drugs in hospital emergency rooms created widespread violence, than ever. endangered whole nations, and Facing the fact that we are losing created a system of law enforce- From inside the beltway it is rare to this war, and badly, Lynch has ment that favors racial profiling of see drug policy discussed sensibly. brought together forward-thinking black Americans. McNamara urges So often, rather than acknowledge people, including former drug the land of the free to stop making the ineffectiveness of our current warriors, some of whom have been `A'hat is merely an unconventional approach to drug control, federal members of the Drug Enforcement life style a crime. He concludes:"It is officials just seem to want to repeat Agency or police departments, and clear that doggedly continuing a the mistakes of the past.The Cato noted academics and drug reform Policy that has failed for nearly a Institute is often a refreshing oasis advocates, who provide a variety of century is no way to start a new inside the beltwa . It brin s forward ers ectives on dru century."The only disappointing Y g p p g policy. Perhaps essay is that of former California issues in ways that others tend to the most important is the Republi- avoid. In the drug policy field, it has can Governor of New Mexico, Gary Attorney General Dan Lungren, helped achieve federal forfeiture Johnson -one of the few politicians who supports the Drug War except laws when it published Forfeiting Our in America who is ready and willing to say,"We should always be ready Property Rights, by Rep. Henry Hyde, to face reality and argue for a new to re-examine our positions:' After which exposed the rampant abuse paradigm. He is in favor of decrimi- Prohibition comes at an important of forfeiture powers. Now, with its nalizing marijuana possession and time in the evolution of the Drug recent publication of After Prohibition: making its sale legal, with age War. Our military is becoming An AdultApproach to Drug Policies in restrictions and other controls. increasingly involved in the Colom- the 21st Century, it challenges the Johnson argues that legalization bian Drug War, we've gone through drug prohibition paradigm. Edited by would weaken international cartels a record prison-building binge and Timothy Lynch, director of the Cato and street drug gangs and bring the the public seems to be tiring of this Institute's Project on Criminal marijuana market above ground war. Reformers have won initiatives Justice, After Prohibition recognizes where it can be regulated like other in each of the last three elections on the bankruptcy of current policy businesses. Noting that New Mexico various reform issues.The time is and seeks to come up with a new has the highest heroin overdose right for our nation to begin to take approach for the 21st century. Since rate in the U.S., he also argues for drugs seriously and come up with an 1980, the U.S. has spent approxi- making health care more easily approach that learns from past mately ahalf-trillion federal, state, available to users and adopting harm mistakes, stops repeating them, and and local tax dollars on the Drug reduction strategies that have been develops an effective, humane, and War. But while the drug warriors successful in Europe and Australia. sensible drug policy.This book is a achieved record numbers of arrests good start to launching that dia- and incarcerations, and record With the federal Drug War budget logue. interdiction and eradication of approaching $20 billion annually, Kevin Zeese is President of Common dru s, dru related roblems former Police Chief Joseph g g P McNamara asks,"What have we got Sense for Drug Policy, a drug policy became worse than ever. Cocaine r reform organization in Washington, D.C. and heroin are urer and chea er for our money." In addition to the P P undiminished problem of drug (http://www.csdp.org). than in 1980, and there are more abuse, he points out, drug profits - overdose deaths and mentions of markups as great as 17,000 percent -have corrupted public officials, THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY- I tJ ~`t Guest Speaker: M=„ _ _ Ignorance Hurts Both u ~:i , Drug Users and Their Families ~{~,4 ~ a By Susan P. Koningen ~ ~ F Imost seven years ago, 1 'A -0 . ~1 ke in the middle of the :"~'s;~^p,.~ ig the sound of someone pounding on my door, a force- ful rat-tat-tat that stated 'Get up -this is important!' I grabbed my dressing gown and ~ f ~ "w t bolted for the door. , r "Dear God," I thought, "please let everything be okay." };l Opening the door, I faced two policemen. A million scenarios Flashed through my mind, but ~ I, p, ~ none came even close to the re- ality of why the boys in blue II III I ~ were calling on me that night. ~ One of the officers spoke. "Do VIII you have a son called Brett?" I answered "Yes, I do."Then, "Do you know of an Amy Johnston?" r.. i Again I answered "Yes, she is ~~I~~ my son's fiancee. What's hap- didn't know what to say to my son to pened.° ~i~. help him! Each morning when I awoke, I motioned for them to enter. Once in- my first two thoughts were: Ls he okay, ~ i ~ side, the older of the officers spoke. or will I find him dead in his bed? Oh ~i "I'm afraid we have some bad news." God, please help me find a way to help My bland stare belied my terror. I held my son. 'a~" my breath while he continued. "I have been advised to inform you that Amy My fingers became worn to the bone ` is dead, and your son is in intensive through trying to find soroeoneto help Vii' care at St John's Hospital. We believe us. The ignorance and judgmental at- ` it was adrug-induced suicide pact' titudes of those in the "helping" pro- fessions, plus their lack of compassion, I feltas though my heart had been torn inexperience or inability to counsel us, from my body, and the pain was so in- left us feeling isolated and alienated tense that I could barely draw breath. from society. I thank God that my son `~a Then tears of grief flooded my con- was able to find some support to try to sciousness. make sense of his life. I was not so for- That was seven Ion tunate. g years ago. The fol- ~I . lowing months were a nightmare. I I Determi ned that no parent should have to face this shattering experiencealone, s:r~' r- x ~ , 2Q__ THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY t~m_ I formed Empowering Families, asup- If we don't change our mind-set about Together, we can stop the snipers kit l- port group for families of children us- how we deal with drugs in society, then ing off our children, one at a time, in ing or abusing drugs. We meet at my we can expect more and more of our this so-called "War on Drugs." We can home, and at every meeting we have children to be incarcerated or die, in end the reign of terror. one goal in mind: °To break down the this continuing and pointless tragedy. communication barriers dividing us Susan P Koningen runs Empowering and to reconnect with our children, so It's time to work together to put the Families from her home in Surfers that we could support their recovery." emphasis on education rather than Paradise, Australia. S'he may be Because so few resources are there for enforcement, and rehabilitation rather reached at P.O. Box 2,554 Burleigh families, I also published my own than incarceration, to consolidate our M.D.C. 4220 Queenstand,Australia,or ebook, Empowering Families to Break families, communities, and our soci- at Susan@magiccomputers.com.au. Down the Barriers, available al ety. www.zeus-pubticationscom. I want to help families understand that their children can't recover alone, and to help them to: • Stop blaming themselves for their childreD's addictions. • Understand the many life experiences that influence and impact on their children's lives. • Learn about addictions, rehabilita- tion, and the recovery process. • Become more aware of their actions and reactions to their drug use. • Communicate more effectively and honestly with their children. • Base their value on who they are, not what they are or what they have. • Value themselves for the miracle they are. • Teach their children how to value ` themselves. • Empower other members of the fam- ilytotakeresponsibilityfortheirlives. w20Ptf1@ • Develop strategies that create posi- ReCOf1S1~2f r five changes in family and addict be- haviors. You'll get a L07• • Rewrite their life stories of who they of positive are and what they want out of life. eommen • Empower their children to do the same. S • Reunite the family unit. • "Minimize" the lapse/relapse poten- tial of the child in recovery. ~ • Prevent younger siblings taking up ~ drug use. 1--^' • Love themselves more honestly and • openly. I urge all families who need to come I out of the darkness to walk with me, . and find your way back into the light, and fight for your precious children. They desperately need strong allies. THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY I Notes on Drug Education for College Students By Craig Reinarman, Ph.D. Editor's' Note: Craig Reinarman is Professor and Chair ofSociology at the Uni- versity of California, Sanfa Cruz, and Visiting Scholar at the Center for Drug obert M. Hutchins, former Presi- Research at the University ofAmsterdam. He has served on the board ofdirec- fthe University of Chicago, once tors of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, as a consultant to the that "the object of education is World Health Organization's Programme on Substance Abuse, and as principal to prepare the young to educate them- investigator on research grants from the Nationallnstitute ofDrugAbuse and selves throughout their lives." I do not the Nafionallnstitute o£Justice. Dr. Reinarman is the authoroFAmerican States think drug education as currentlyprac- of Mind (Yale University Press, 1987), coauthor of Cocaine Changes (Temple tried meets this objective, because I University Press, 1991), and co-editor of Crack in America: Demon Drugs and think drug education is not generally Social Justice (University ofCalitornia Press, 1997). He has published articles designed as education at all. At best, on drug use, law, and policy in Theory and Society, British Journal of Addiction, most so-called drug education is de- International Journal of Drug Policy, Addiction Research, and Contemporary signed to teach young people what to Drug Problems, and otherjournals. Craig Reinarman may be reached ai 831- think rather than how to think. At 459-2617 or at craigo@cats.ucsc.edu. worst, it is moral ideology masquerad- ing as medical science. In this essay, I versity, for example, each and every evitable if not normative. All this is a attempt to describe some of the lessons new student is briefed on the dangers way of saying that one of the things that I have drawn from my experiences of drugs -licit and illicit -and the we might want to think more about is teaching auniversity-level sociology rules against using them, upon enter- the nature, efficacy, and unintended course about drugs, in the hope that these reflections will stimulate other mg the dormitory (which, some par- consequences of drug education for teachers to reflect upon their own ex- ents suspect, may be as much about college and university students. covering the university's institutional periences. ass as it is about anything else). Yet, To prepare this essay, I tried to reflect The overwhelming focus of drug edu- beyond the exposure students get to on my own practices after teaching a cation efforts is on elementary and high drug education as part of their orien- course called "Drugs and Society" to school students. On one level, this is tation, there is little more than the about 200 undergraduates each year for as it should be: get them before they usual array of "just say no" and "here the past 15 years. These practices, I start and you'll have less aggregate risk. are the risks"pamphlets, local l2-step soon realized, were not so much But on another level, there is an irony group meeting schedules in the thought out ahead of time as they were here, for college is when millions of counselor's waiting room, and hapless figured out as 1 went along, Flying by young people begin their drug use - residence assistants halfheartedly the seat of my pedagogicalpants,Iearn- if not their very first use of any drug; spouting the rules in what is, outside mg from those Lwas teaching,.In what. . often their first use of some drugs, and of some Bible colleges, usually a follows,Itrytomakeexplicitsomeof more often than not their first regular Sisyphian struggle against students' the things I intuited as I went along use, especially underage alcohol use, search for altered states. and to share a few principles that seem to have worked. which is, for most of them,"illicit drug After all, going away to college is to use." It is in college where the family some degree about testing oneself, A Paradoxical Premise norms that most parents hopewiil keep their children away from drug abuse about taking risks, about exploring One of the first things I learned from are most attenuated. consciousness, and about living inde- my students was that they had been pendently, out of visual range of the bombarded by what they saw as heavy- Notthat colleges and universities don't panopticonic parental gaze from which handed anti-drug propaganda, and that have drug and alcohol education avail- the student has just, in a sense, es- if I wanted them to take me seriously, able for students; they do. At my uni- caped.Ifthatis areasonablealbeitpar- to believe [knew something worth tial description of college life, then a certain amount of drug taking is in- 2~ --1HE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY learning, I could not even pretend to smoke marijuana care nothing for the right mind would allow herself to be- begiving them only value-free, "scien- American Dream. They prefer instead come preoccupied with "social causes, tific" information unearthed by elite to seek creativity, spontaneous plea- race relations, environmental issues," "experts" and provided to them "for sure, freedom, and excitement." The and so on? Obviously such horrid their own good." Clear majorities of my DEA "curators" made several false and symptoms could only occur under the students walk into the classroom with rather telling assumptions in writing influence of marijuana. If this is any deep suspicions ofwhat they have been and publicly displaying such a caption: indication of the right-wing political (])that "creativity, spontaneous plea- and moral ideology that is being thinly sure, freedom, and excitement" are not veiled as drug education, then the mys- part of the American Dream -which tery is not why so many young people would be shocking news, for instance, try marijuana but why more young on Madison Avenue; (2) that these ex- people don't. In short, as a teacher I periences are so self-evidently wrong have come to believe that if I want to that no condemnatory rationale was engage in drug education, I have to be needed; (3) that absent the influence a critic of drug educa5on. of marijuana, American youth would not desire such sensations on their Some Pedagogical Practices/ own; and (4) that most of the 70 mil- Principles lion Americans who have at least,tried • The first and most important thing I marijuana have lost interest in the learned is that I must try to get stu- American Dream as a consequence. dents to "just say know,°' rather than merely to "just say no." This is, after I tried to imagine how my students all, preciselywhatwetrytoteachthem would interpret the same caption, how in every other course; it is perfectly in they would "decode" such a "text." I keeping with the best norms and val- could not persuade myself that they ues of universities. To preach absti- wouldinfer anything that might reduce pence values alone, even if dressed up the likelihood that they would try mari- juana or increase the likelihood that 1° scien6fie garb, is to be seen as a moralist and to risk having the infor- theywould believe their government's motion dismissed. University students messages about drugs. have worked very hard to get where A recent story in the Washington Post they are and have thus earned the right reported that Senator Orin Hatch (R- to be given a full range of information. Utah) had written the preface to a book- After all, we encourage them to con- sider all sides of given thus far in their other issues and lives in theway of drug To preach abstlnenee values to think critically education. about everything 7worecentexamples:l alone...1S t0 be Seen QS CZ else, so by what logic can we ask ,.had occasion to visit moralist and to risk having them to forget all the new Drug Enforce- ~ ~ that when it ment Administration the information dismissed. comes to drugs? Museum, on the Andifwedid,how ground Floor of a high- rise office building just across the long would it take Potomac from Washington, DC. The let titled How Parents Can Help Chil- them to figure out that we had done so Museum's exhibits were designed to get dren LfaeMarijuana-Free. In this pref- and to protest? About two seconds, across some basic information having ace Hatch urged parents to study the that's how long. So I begin my drug to do with the evils of drugs. I was im- booklet in order to learn the danger course by telling my students that mediately struck by one picture show- signs that their children may be using while this is not a "how to" course on ing a rather ordinary looking group of drugs. Among the "signs" ofdrug abuse drugs, it is also not a "just say no" young people on a street corner, with cited in the booklet is "excessive pre- course either. occupation with social causes, race the caption, "Hepsters -black and relations, environmental issues, etc." 'Every time I fail to make distinctions white (only black were shown) -who between drugs some student "busts" Where to begin? What student in her THE RECONSIDER QUARTERL~23 me. Students have heard authorities matrix of social problems in which of the course how many personally invoke the great chemical bogeyman these problems are invariably embed- know someone who has seriously hurt "drugs" throughout their lives, often ded. I try to get them to take seriously themselves or truly messed up their from kindergarten on, and by the time the notion that social context is cru- lives and the lives of those around them they get to their second or third year cially important- e.g., to understand because of their drug use. Nearly all of university they know better. So if I that "bad trips" on LSD and heroin raise their hands. Then I ask them to don't make distinctions among drugs overdoses are caused by more than enumerate all they know about those based on relative risks, then t run the malevolent molecules; thatthevery ef- persons, including what else was go- risk of being dismissed as an inexperi- fects of a drug are shaped in important ing on in their lives that might have enced ideologue or an old fogey, or both ways by the contexts in which it is used, influenced them to over-use drugs. For (and the closer I get to actually being contexts which are themselves shaped most students, all it takes is a moment's an old fogey, the more important I in importantways by our current drug reflection to figure out that the people seem to think it is to avoid such dis- laws -these laws being overwhelm- they know who have hurt themselves missals). ingly the products of a long sequence or others because of the misuse of • 1 am teaching this course in a loci- of drug scares that began with the anti- drugs had a lot going against them to ology curriculum. Most students have alcohol crusade at the start of the 19th begin with. Second, I also ask them to had some sociology and/or criminol- century. And since some of these stu- take seriously their own experience in ogy, so they under- drug education as stand that drug is- data. Did they be- sues constitute a I...want them to understand how lieve what the drug wonderful window education curricu- on the structure of the S2leCtlUe enfvreement Of weretexpos~ed tried society - on the so- cial construction of drug laws is the source of the to teach them? Did social problems, on ~ it change their be- the sociology of law, g'y'Q(lt2.St Sing'l2 CClt2Q'~Yl~ 0/ havior. Were their on how the criminal Peers helped by the justice system fungi- Q~gn(~QYS Zy1 Our rISOnS. course? Were they bons, on the politics p less likely to try of public policy. So I drugs. Were they include material on how drug use gets dents have studied criminology, and more or less cynical about drug edu- defined as deviant; about the condi- since the U.S. is the world leader in cation after experiencing drugs bons under which drug scares, as phe- Imprisonment, I especially want them firsthand? Such questions quickly lead nomena in their own right, arise; and to understand how the selective em them to wonder whether spending bil- how "drug problems" get constructed forcement of drug laws is the source lions of tax dollars to "markeC' anti- as such. I do this, as I try to stress to of the single greatest category of of- drug ideology is effective; whether it is my students, not in order to de-legiti- fenders in our prisons. a good idea to use public resources to mize the anti-drug messages they've I try to combat pharmacological de- define abstinence as normal and any gotten and certainly not to claim that terminism, which in my view contrib- drug use (other than Ritalin and there are no risks in drug use. On the utes to the false perception that drugs Prozac, of course) as pathological. In contrary, I feel that only by showing are ali-powerful and that, once in their general, students do not seem to like that 1 am not part of the Drug Czar's grip, users are powerless. I want my drug education that tries to get them chorus, that I am not willing to take students to understand that there is to think ill of, snitch on, and ostracize government claims about the horrors nothing in the molecules of these sub- each other - what might be called of drug use at face value, and that I am stances or in their own brains to lead disintegrative shaming. Does such an willing to look critically at everything, us to believe that any specific behav- approach have a solid ethical founda- will Ithen have their trust- the sine ioral consequence Flows from the in- tion or a solid theory of human behav- qua non of any kind of education. gestion of any drug. Behavioral copse- for change behind it? Or is it based on quences are contingent, not inevitable, fear. My students often ask in this con- I try to get my students to use their products of complex social interaction textwhether drug education programs sociological imaginations so that they rather than nature. have been rigorously evaluated. I have come to see that one cannot under- to tell them that the largest program, stand drug problems apart from the 1 try to get my students to take their D.A.R.E., and the more recent billion- own experience seriously as data. This dollar advertising blitz of former Drug works two ways: first, I ask on day one Z~SHE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY Czar Barry McCaffrey have both been alarmed by the problems caused by ing alternative to all the negative pro- evaluated and shown to have no im- drug abuse. But on the course evalua- paganda about drugs. I have been in- pact on adolescentsubstanceuse. Even lion form, where it asks whether they spired to try and promote more com- if Iwanted to, I could notpersuade my would "recommend the course to a munity outreach programs, and I will students to stop questioning what they friend" and whether they would "take recommend this class to all my peers." have been taught or avoid thinking the course again,"somewhere between (E'~tdnote-backcoaer~ critically about received wisdom. 75% and 95% of students check "yes." • Perhaps the most difficult and yet Enrollments have grown, year after an ra.uer uerston olth(s essay ¢~os year.Iliketothinkthatthisisbecause, n'~`~ntedal[Ae.gnnua~Meet(nyo(the the most important piece ofdrug edu- as one student wrote, "It was a refresh- s neF one sco~on NoUe,nb~er~i~ zooo. cation I do in my course is to prevent the proverbial babies from being thrown out with the bath water. By this I mean that I try to persuade my students that even though the drug field is highly po- liticized and they have of- tenbeen systematically mis- led by the exaggerated and simplistic scare tactics of their own government, they should not, therefore, dis- miss all warnings. In the end, if I have succeeded in getting them to read widely on the history ofdrug prob- lemsand drug policy, and to think critically about what these have to do with the structure of our society, I feel that I have earned the credibil ity I need to get them to listen to me when I tell them, "All drugs have risks." The price of trust is truth. If students perceive me as truly leveling with them, * rather than trying to get nr~O~CI f+ IC • them to behave in the ways 1~ w~l L Iandotheradultsapprove FORUM ON DRUG POLICY ~ of, then I feel 1 have the best chance of getting them to accept the evidence I present on the relative risks of drug use in all its forms. Being so distant from the cultural ~ ~ ~ mainstream and the domi- nant forms of drug educa- tion, my approach does not please everyone. Each year, ~ ' ' ' ' a few students write in their ' " • • evaluations that I am too ' • critical of existing drug policy or insufficiently THE RECONSIDER QUARTERL~S A Focus on Safety First Strikes a Universal Chord B[,~ MRYSJtr'( ROSBYlbllilril, Ph.D. Editor's Note: Marsha Rosenbaum is a medical sociologist and director of the San Francisco office ofThe Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, a drug '~hvo years ago I wrote Safety First: policy institute with offices in New York, Washington DC, New Mexico, Oak- land, Sacramento and San Francisco. She received her doctorate in sociology A eality-Based Approach to Teens, from the University of California at San Francisco in 1979. From 1977 to 1995 gs and Drug Education, a 7 7-page Rosenbaum was the principal investigator on ten grants funded by the Na- booklet published by the Lindesmith tional Insh'tute on Drug Abuse, completing studies of female heroin addicts, Center. Since then, aver 30,000 copies methadone maintenance treatment and policy, MDMA (Ecstasy), cocaine, and have been distributed to public and drug use during pregnancy. She is the author of the book Women on Heroin private schools, state and local health and coauthor ofthe books Pursuit of Ecstasy: The MDMA Experience and Preg- agencies, public policy institutes, treat- nant Women on Drugs: Combating Stereotypes and Stigma, as well as numer- ment facilities, military bases, and in- ous scholarly articles about drug use, drug addiction, and drug policy. She is dividual parents and educators in al I also the author of three booklets: Just Say What?: An Alternative View of Soly- 50 states and 31 countries around the ing America's Drug Problem; Kids, Drugs, and Drug Education: A Harm Reduc- world.Initially, many were sent at our lion Approach; and Safety First: AReality-Based Approach to Teens, Drugs, and initiative, but then we began receiving Drug Education. Her opinion pieces have appeared in many national publica- thousands of requests for additional bons, including Newsday, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Rosenbaum copies from around the world. And of co-chaired the international conferences 'Just Say Know: New Directions in the many comments I received about Drug Education"and "The StateofEcst¢sy: The Medicine, Science and Culture this booklet, almost none were critical of MDMA." of it. Why was this publication so popular among parents and teachers? I believe activity (including sex education), this own daughter^went down the same its popularity is due to the fact that it was the first I had heard of Drug Abuse dangerous road as that nice Jewish is one of the few publications advocat- Resistance Education. heroin addict? I became curious about ing a harm reduction perspective re- Although I was working at the time as What D.A.R.E. was teaching my child, garding teenagers and drugs. The mes- and so I set out to learn more about sage seems to have resonated. a researcher for the National Institute America's drug education programs. In on Drug Abuse, drug education had not the course of my research, I discovered Responding to Misinformation been my focus. But now my daughter's words made me remember the nice that anti-drug messages have been What prompted me to write this book- around for nearly a century, from Tem- . let, and the reason for the almost uni- Jewish girl 1'd once interviewed, who happened to bean incarcerated heroin perance tales of permanent alcohol- versalsupport ithas received, goes back induced brain damage to Reefer Mad- to something that happened back in addict. She'd gotten into hard drugs Hess-style warnings about marijuana. 1987. That year, my daughter, then in after taking a high school drug educa- Then Reagan's escalation ofthe War on fifth-grade, returned from school and lion class in which she was told that Drugs kicked drug education into high proudly declared that she was part of both marijuana and heroin caused ad- gear. Since the mid-1980s, preteens the D.A.R.E. program, and now knew diction. She tried marijuana and real- and teens have been exposed to a about dru s. "When a erson smokes ized she'd been lied to, so when heroin g p came her way, she tried that, too. Like plethora of "prevention" messages, marijuana,"Annie announced, "half of many young people, she and her friends from television ads to school-based their brain cells are erased forever. no longer believed anything adults told classes to billboards to Red Ribbon pa- That's what the nice police officer told them about drugs. rades. Young people have learned haw us, and he knows."Although the school to "just say no," taken drug-free had required parental permission for Now that drug education had become pledges, and been taught to make the practically every other non-classroom personal, I was worried. What if my ~L~THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY right decision about drugs. Even those drug free. Drugs (defined broadly) are ing the hours between the end of the teenagers who were raised to be rode- everywhere: we medicate with pharma- school day and dinner. pendent. creative thinkers learned that ceuticals and over-the-counter meds there was only one correct decision (often introducing our children to For those teenagers who still say when itcame to drugs. Iftherewas ever Ritalin as their first drug of choice, or "maybe" or "sometimes" or "yes" to any doubt, escalating zero tolerance non-choice, as it were, as it is foisted drugs, we need a fall back strategy that policies insisted that students cultivate upon them by parents and teachers); embraces safety as its bottom line. A refusal skills. as teens and adults, we line up far our voluntary, drop-in informational pro- java fixes at the ever-proliferating gram should be offered for at least an Starbucks cafes; and, of course, few of hour or two per week in every middle ~ us can recreate or celebrate without and high school in America. If teenag- ~p imbibing alcohol. Even Mormon kids ers won't abstain completely, at least r~ in Utah and Bible-carrying kids in the they can learn enough honest, science- ,4~`~, Deep South are not immune to based information about alcohol and America's drug culture. The very no- other drugs to avoid serious problems. tion of being "drug free" in America Parents Are strikes most thinking teenagers as lu- N7orried and Confused T ~ dicrous. Recently the government launched a Second, adolescence itself is a time of campaign aimed at the parents ofteen- x great risk-taking. Teenagers often be- agers. On billboards and Web sites and lieve themselves invincible. How else in newspaper ads (www.theanlidrug. could they learn to drive or surf or orgy, parents are told that they have not skateboard? Prevention messages that only the responsibility but also the stress risk as a drug-use deterrent are power to prevent drug use among teen- barking up the wrong tree. agers. Finally, in our zeal to get teens to ab- Since launching my own research into stain, we have promoted anti-drug drug education, I've spoken with hun- messages that misstate and exaggerate dreds of parents aboutteens and drugs. the dangers of (illegal) drugs so con- I find that they, like me, are worried, sistently that they have become noth- confused, and in a, bind. We baby ing more than a joke to many teenag- boomers learned early on that authori- ers. In short, young people have lost tarian child-rearing, often complete confidence inadults'abilitytosayany- with corporal punishment, was not Still, after spending billions of govern- thing but "no" about the complex is- okay. We negotiated with our kids, ment dollars on prevention, govern- sue of drugs. sometimes even as they behaved hor- ribly. We eschewed violence and en- ment surveys indicate that 80 percent Drug education may not beable topre- couraged them to "use your words:' We of today's teenagers will have con- vent drug use, but I do believe such tried to send our kids to schools that sumed alcohol, and over half will have programs could be useful in prevent- placed a premium on fostering creativ- triedmarijuanabythetimetheygradu- ing drug abuse. While we've got teen- ity and bolstering self-esteem. We ate from high school. Obviously, many agers' attention, we could weave the wanted our children to feet as though teenagers have not heeded admoni- subject of drugs into solid courses such they had volition (even if they really bons to be "drug free." as physiology, biology, chemistry, psy- didn't). We gave them choices (even if Is teenage drug use the fault of drug chology, political science, history, etc. sometimes those choices were bogus). education programs such as D.A.R.E.? Whdewestressthevalueofabstinence, And then came adolescence and "the I doubt it In the context of current students could actually learn some- drug thing." All of a sudden volition, American culture, prevention pro- thing about drugs that, now and later decision-making and creativity went grams don't stand achance ofprevent- m life, might help them avoid problems out the window. The vast majority of ing drug use. (eg: the importance of dose and the us hoped [or abstinent teenagers. We dangers of combining drugs). And of ~~,anted to talkwith our teenagers about From Coffee to Booze, course, we need to beef-up extracur- drugs, but were terrified. Most of us Drugs Are Everywhere ricular and after-school programs so didn't know enough; some of us knew First, American teenagers (by defini- that teens have engaging activities dur- tion) live inAmerica and America is not THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLYZI too much. We wanted a sustained dia- perceive things and the way you will say again that this is not a good logue, but were told that we needed to think. idea, but ifyou do, I urge you to impart a clear "no use" message and Some people will tell you that drugs learn as much as you can, and use not budge from that position under any feel good, and that. why they use common sense. There are many circumstances. Many parents won- them. but drugs are not always fun. excellenf books and references, dered how they could sustain adia- Cocaine and methamphetamine including the Internet, that give you logue and convince their kids they speed up your hearty LSD can make credible information about drugs. would be there for them if they first you feel disoriented,' alcohol intoxi- you can, of course, always talk to drew a line in the sand about drug use. cation impairs driving; cigarette me. If I don't know the answers to How do I talk with my own children smoking leads to addiction and your questions, 1 will try to help you about drugs? The day before he entered sometimes lung cancer; and people hnd them. high school in 1998, Ipublished alet- sometimes die suddenly from taking /fyou are offered drugs, be cautious. ter to my son in the San Francisco heroin. Marijuana does not often Watch how people behave, but Chronicle. This letter is included in lead to physical dependence or understand that everyone responds Safety First and, as such, has been use- overdose, but if does alter the way differently even fo the same sub- ful to thousands of parents in helping people think, behave and react. stance. If you do decide to experi- them and their teens through these ment, be sure that you are sur- Ihave tried to give you a short difficult issues. I am republishing it rounded by people you can counf here, in the hope that it might help description of the drugs you might upon. Plan your transportation and some of you talk to your own children encounter. I choose not to try fo under no circumstances drive or get about drugs and drug use. scare you by distorting information into a car with anyone else who has because !wane you to have conk- been using alcohol or other druys. Dear Johnny, dente in what /tell you. Althouyh / Call us or any of our close friends This fall you will be entering high won't lie to you about their effects, any time, day or night, and we will school, and like most American there are many reasons for a person pick you up, no questions asked and teenagers, you'll have to navigate your age to not use drugs nr alcohol. no consequences. druys. Like most parents, I would First, being high on marijuana or And please, Johnny, use moderation. prefer that you not use drugs. any other drug often interferes with It is impossible to know what is However, 1 realize that, despite my normal life. It is dithcult to retain contained in illegal drugs because wishes, you might experiment. Information while high, so using It, they are not regulated. The majority I will not use scare tactics to deter especially daily, affects your ability offatal overdoses occur because ou. Instead, Navin sent the ast to learn. y g . p p young people do not know the 25 years researching drug use, abuse Second, ifyou think you might try strength of the druys they consume, and policy, I will tell you a little marijuana, please wait until you are or how they combine with other about what /have learned, hoping older. Adults with drug problems drugs. Please do not participate in this will lead you to make wise often started using at u very early drinking contests, which have killed choices. My only concern is your age. too many young people. Whereas health and safety. Finally, your father and 1 don't want marijuana by itself is not fatal, too When people talk about "drugs, "they you to get into trouble. Drug and much can cause you to become are generally referring to illegal alcohol use is illegal for you, and the disoriented and sometimes paranoid. And ofcourse, smoking can hurt substances such us marijuana, consequences of being caught are your lungs, later in life and now. cocaine, methamphetamine (speed), huge. Here in fhe United States, the psychedelic drugs (LSU, Ecstasy, number ofarrests for possession of Johnny, as your father and I have "Schrooms) ancf heroin. marijuana has more than doubled in always told you about a range of These ure not the only drugs that the past six years. Adults are serious activities (including sex), think about make you high. Alcohol, cigarettes about `zero tolerance. "Ifcaught, the consequences ofyour actions and many other substances (like you could be arrested, expelled from before you act. Drugs are no difler- glue) cause intoxication ofsome school, barred from playing sports, ent. Be skeptical and, most ofall, be sort. The fact that one drug or lose your driver's license, denied a safe. another is illegal does not mean one college loan, and/or rejected for I ove is better or worse for you. All of them college. temporarily change the way you Despite my advice to abstain, you Mom o may one day choose to experiment. / `I~ HE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY f• yf~J f~l p ine the existing long- term studies and find that ° Cmmersafiorts with officials in the ILS. Depar[- Artrele EIL(LisO~eJ "the preponderance of enldettce suggests that meat of Education. D.A.R.B. has no long-term effect on drug use.' Research 7Yiunyle ]nstitute. Past and Future " Newspaper accounts hone often reported costs Directions of the D.A. R.E. Program: An Evaluation ...AYB I'VC ~Ol)1(f C'7lOl!lJ~1 ~ closer to $2011 million. These estimates rtppcar to Reviem~, Draft Final Repa~t, Sent. 1.994. ~ For details, see page 186 of Richard hawrence be based m~ D.A.R.F,. America's estimate fin the "The U.S. Department ofEduaxh~n adopted the Miller's Drug Warriors and Their Prey: From Pn- value of officer services alone "Principles of Effectiveness" that set standards lire Poruer fo Police State puhhshed in 1996 by 'D.A.RE. inforratiun reports proaidedby D.A.R.E. ,gorerniny the use of Department.grants far dray Praeger Publishers of LI estporl CT, America. education proyranu for 1998 mad future years. e Ennett, S. T, Rosenbaum, O. P., Flewelling, R. fiThe CS.Census, Census 2000, Table DP-l, shows ~~mony other things, yrantrecrpients are required Bieler; G. S., RingwalQ C. X, & Bailey. S. L. that the Iota[ number of children in the 10-14 to use the fiuads only for programs that have been (1994). Long-term eualuatiwi of Drug Abuse Re- agegroup is about2Q500,000, which suggests that found to be effective based un research mtd sistance Education. Addidiue Behaviors, 1.912), the number afschool-age children in [he Slh or scientific eualuatiorts. D.A.R.L- is not included 1 ]3-12.5. 6th grade aye group is probably dose to 4 mil- among the programs found [o be effective. For Claylm7, R_ Cattarello, A, & Johnstone, B. lion. The Digest of Education Statistics, 1999, of more information about the "Principles ofEffec- (t996). The effectiveness ofDrugAbase Resistance theNational Cenlerfor Education ,Statistics ittdi- tiveness"see Reconsidering D.A.R.E,AReport for Educatiott (Project DA.R.E.J.~S-yearfolloia-up r-e- cafes that as of fa[[ 1997 there were about 8.5 School Superintendents by Oc Gene Tinelli at salts. Prevetttive Medicine, 2.5, 307-318. million in the 5th or 6th grade. The estimated ~'~'~'~reconsider.org. °RittgwalG C., Enttett, S, and Holt, K (L9.91). An number of 5th or 6th grade private school shy- 19 School-Based Urug Prevention Programs, A outcome evaluation of Project D.A.R.E. (Drug dents rs dose [o 500, 000, bringing the total num- longitudinal Study in Selected School Districts, Abuse Resistance Education). Health Fducation ber, in 1997, to around 4 million. Enro[[mettts in- Executive Summary, Final Report, page e-25. creased by about 3 percent between 7997 and Research ZYiang(e Lnsti[ute, February 1997, pre- Researeh 6(3), 327-337. 2001, hringrny the total to slightly over 4 million pared for the U.S. Department ofEducafion. Harmon, M. A. (1993). Reducing the risk ofdmg in the.5th or the 6th grades. Enro(Iments are es- Newspaper reports identified through a search involvement among early adolescents: An evalu- peeled to groin slightly over the next five years. of the Media Awareness Project on-line archives atian of Druy Abuse Resistance Education D.A.R.F,. programs are over-represented in urban (mapincoryl. (D.A.R.E./. Evaluation Review, l7(ZJ, 221-239. andsuhurbmr areas (with largerschoo[-agepopu- Walker, S. C. (1990). the Pictaria Police Depart- IatiortsJ, and D.A.R.E. programs reportedly are in ~e Amounts of D.A.R.E. costs have been reported went - Drug Abuse Resistance Education over h'0 percent of school districts nationwide. in U.S.A. Today, Reason Magazine, Rolling Stone. Progrmnme (D.A.R.E.J: Programme Ena[uation Therefore, 4 million appears to be the maximum The National Review, and other publications. Report N2. Victoria, Rr. Columbia, Canada : number of children that D.A.R.E. programs can ° Conversations with staff at D.A.R.E. dmerica. Educon: Marketing Ar Research Systems. be expelled to reach, assuming information on ~w LeMoyne Co/lege [nstitute of Industrial Rela- program growth provided by D.A.R.E. America is bons Research Pa er, No.l2, Se rtember2001, The Enneft, S., 7bbler, N, Rinywall, C., &F/ewelliny, accurate. For extensive information on school- p l R. (1994). How effective is drug abuse resistance Economic Costs of D.A.R.E. Far a copy oftee eom- educotion?Ameta~tnalysis ofproject DARB out- age populations andprojections, see the Digestof plele report, visit www.re~ansider.org, or e-mail comeenaluations. Journal ofPuhlic Health, 84(.9), Education Statistics at http://nces.edgovl the author at Shepard@rr12ilJemoyne.edu. 1394-1401. pubs2000/digest99. " Occupational Employment Statistics, Bureau ' lnformatia2 about D.A.R.E. !raining programs of labor Statistics, 1.9.99 Na[iona[ Occupational COStS Of ~.f~.R.E. was provided by D.A.R.E. America and by staffat F.mploymenl and Waye Estimates, ProtectiveSer- ~ the regional training centers. vier Occu alions, SOC Code 33-3051, Police and Helpful suggestions for this research were re- P ceived from Paul Blackleg and Cliff Donn of "Information on fundittg sources for loca[D.A.K.E. Sherifls Patrol0ificers. The estimated mean an- LeMoyne College, Nick Eyle and Alexandra Eyle Programs is ham a report by the Research 7Yi- oval estimated wages for1.999 vas about $39,000. of ReconsiDer, Mike Roono, Joel Brown, mrd angle /nstitute, Past and Future Directions of the Therefore $90,000 is a reasonable estimate for Rodney Skager. D.A.R.F. officers undstate coordi. D.A.R.F.. Program: An Evaluation Review, Draft 200]. nators in several states and staff of D.A.H.E. Final Report, September 1999, fa' the DS. De- ao Bureau of labor Statistics, D.S. Department of America provided valuable information used in Partment nfduslice, and from numerous newspa- Labor, Employment Cost 7Yends, Table 4, State this study. William Modze[eski and David Quinlin Per reports identified through a search ofthe Me- attd Local Government, by occupational and in- o(the U.S. Department of Education, and Don dia Awareness Project on-litte archives dustry group, March 2000. MacKa of Common Sense for Ora Po1ic were (mapinc.org). also he( ful in identif m informati nsources for LeMoyne Cal[ege )nstitute of Industrial Rela- p y ~ g 9 Remarks ofRarry R. McCaffrey, Director, Office bons Research Paper, No.22, Septemher2007, The this research. ofNationul Drug Control Policy at the 13th An- Economic Costs of 0.A.R.E. 'Information about DA.R.E. is from the 09R.F_. oval National DA.R.E. Officers Association Din- Ameriea information packet entitled 0.hR.E. A6 ner, July 7, 2000. " U.A.R.E. America reports that approximately A-Glance, revised OR-25-99, and a D.A.R.E. Fact 30011 D.A.R.E. officers are trained each year. 10 States apply for lederal Funds for D.AR.E. pro- Sheet containing projections for (999, prepared grams through the Edward Byrne Memorial State '6 Conversation with stall of D.AR.E. America. fw' the Bureau oflusticeAssistance, U.S. Depart- and Local7,aw Enforcement Assistance Formula '0 /nformation from tax returns for D.A.R.E. and merit a(Justice. These reports were provr8ed h.9 Grant Program. According to U.AR.E. America, other tax-exempt organrzatimrs is available at D.A.R.E.America. D.A.R.6'. programs qualify forsuppor[because one CuidesWr.org. The 1998 tax rehrrns are the most ' For example, see Project D.A.R.G.: No effects at of the adhorized areas for funding is "demand recent currently available 10-year follow-up, Lynam, Milich, el al, Journal reduction education pragrans in rahich law en- of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, August forcement officers particryale."TheBushAdmin- 1999, Pol. 67, No. 4, 590-93. The authors exam- istration, however, recently discontinued this prro- gram. (Continued on back cover) THE RECONSIDER QUARTERLY Z~I EndROt¢S (Conlznued from page 2.9) the regular e[aseroom instructoroften spends time `Schaps, E., Mw~kowitz, Maivin, J, & Schaeffer, during andaRer the DA.R.E. program to reinforce 8. (1986). Bbaluation ofseuen srhoobbased pre- USAnti-drug Program Says It Wil I Adopt a New the lessotts. Thus 18 hours is probably o reason- venlion programs: A final report on the Napa Strategy, The New York Times, Feb. 15, 2001. able estimate oftheamount ofc(ass laours (orthe project. International Journal of the Addictions, ae Research Triangle Institute, P¢st and Future D.A.R.F.. program. Ll, 1(181-1]12. Directions of the D.A.RE. Proyram: An Evalua- C'Sp¢C1Q~~lf FOY A(IOICSCEIttS ~ ~'ormun, D. (1996). Efiologica(theories and the liar Reaiem. Draft Final Report, Sept. 1999. primary prevention o(drug use. journal of Drug "Conversations with local D.AR.F.. coordinators ~ Shepard T. (200/). The ecottomic rosLs n( Issues, 26/2), 505-520. and officers in New York Ci[y and other comma- D.A.R.F... /.eMoytte Institute of Indusbiu[ Rela- , Crxdgans, N., & McKellar, S. (1994). Drug Use nines in Maryland and upstate Nem York. bons. Syracuse, New York. Paper Number 22. Amongst Peers: Peer Pressure or Peer Preference? zs Conversations with licensed D.A.RF. vendors. `Johnsott, L. D., O'MaI[ey, P.M.,&Bachmmt, d. Drugs:Education,Prevention,andPolicy.l(IJ,IS- G. (2001). Monitoring the Future. ,Vationa( re- 26. M/ormation born tax returns fur D.A.R. F. mu( salts on adolescent drug use: Overview o(key (ittd- ellersch, P (1998). A 7Yibe Apart: A Journey into other tax-exempt organizations is availubie aI ings, 2000. Oniversity of Michigan Institute for Guidestar.org. The 1998 tax returns ore the moll Social Research. the Heart of American Adolescence. New York: recent currently auaiiab(e. ~ Fawcett-Columbine. so r A¢stin, G. and Shager, R. (1999). Seventh Bien- 9 ~ am indebted to my rolleayue, Ralph Cantor, a Aewspaper reports identified through the Me- ttial Statewide Survey of Drug and Alcohol Use dia Awareness Project and conversations with grnong California Students in Grades 7, $ and truly wise prevention practitioner, for his formu- D.A.R.E. officers and com-dinntors. 11. Sacramento, CA: Office of the Altomey Gen- ~at~wi of these principles. " Newspaper reports identified through the Me- era[, Crime Prevention Center. 10 Brown, D. H, D'Fmidio-Castor, M, and Pob dia Awareness Project and ronversations with < Golub, A. W'. (2001) &7ohnson, 8. D. (20011. tmd, (1997). Students mid substances: Social D.A.R.B. officers and coordinators. Variation in youthful risks o(progression'from Power in drug education. Educational Evaluation alcohol/tobacco fo mari um:a and to hard dru s and Policy Analysis, 19(11, 6'5-H2. 61lbid. Table 70 states that the average class size J 9 for elementary school teachers rs 24. across yetterafions. American Journal of Public ~ ~ ~I~IOtCS Ot! ~Yl!(f' El~ilCQtlOri sn The D.A.R.F.. elementar school ro ram can- Health, 93/2), 2'15-232. ~ y~ P 9 Theauthor is yratefu(to Dc Marsha Rosenbaum sistsofl7ane-hourlessotts, Includingthegradu- °Moshman, David. (1999). Adolescent Psychobgi- jor this phrase. anon ceremony. The D.A.R.E. officer meets with cal Development: Rationality, Morality, and Iden- fheclassroommstructorbeforectassesbegin,and lily. New Jersey:Ertbaum&Associates. RECONSI ER~ FORUM ON DRUG POLICY 205 Onondaga Avenue Syracuse, NY 13207 /