When I was in elementary school in the mid nineties I had the experience of going through the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE program. The DARE program was simultaneously a holdover from the late 80’s Reagan era “Just Say No” campaign, as well as a new approach to drug prevention that included education about illicit substances, in addition to preaching abstinence. It sucked. Now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to bring it back. This is a dumb idea. Here’s an idea of what should replace it.
The DARE Program Doesn’t Work
You’ve probably inferred by now that the DARE program did not work on me. After all, I blog about cannabis and indulge regularly. I’m not alone; the program had astronomical failure rates, which is why it lost federal funding the year I entered middle school. If the failures of the DARE program and other abstinence models have taught us one thing, it’s that the this model doesn’t work. Why is this? Well, when you tell kids (especially adolescents) not to do something, naturally that is going to make them want to do it. Even four year olds know this. Though I am a staunch opponent of the drug war, and am by no means anti-drug. I still thnk it’s still important to teach kids that they should at least wait until they graduate high school before trying cannabis and other things.
What Could Replace the DARE Program?
So, what would this new drug education model look like? Obviously, we have to take a different approach to cannabis, considering it’s now legal for medical use in over half the country, and recreational use in eight states and DC. We can’t teach kids that cannabis is bad and that it’s a gateway drug, because that’s not true. Kids know that argument is bullshit, and if you lie to them like that, you’ve lost them forever. I knew that the gateway drug argument was a lie as soon as I smoked cannabis and didn’t immediately want to run out and do cocaine.
It will be imperative to talk about the medical reasons why people use cannabis, in particular the stories of children like Charlotte Figi. What will also be important is talking about why so many states are pushing for legalization. If cannabis is supposedly a “dangerous drug”, then why are so many states pushing for legalizing it? In addition to the benefits, we will need to educate kids on the negative side effects, because yes there are some. I love weed, but I’m not about to claim that it’s completely harmless. I think we can all agree that nothing is completely harmless.
I learned what this was from DARE. Image powered by Huffington Post
Abstinence Doesn’t Work
We don’t want to encourage drug use, but we cannot teach abstinence. After all, we’ve seen what happens with abstinence only sex education in the US. We have to have an honest conversation with our kids. This means conceding that getting high is fun, but only if one is responsible. There’s no need to perpetuate the myth that drugs are for losers because we know that’s not true. Any teenager is going to figure that myth out when they go to their first high school party. Then they will wonder what else you lied about. Smoking weed is a wonderful and life changing experience, but you should really wait until your brain is done developing before you start partaking.
Leave Cops out of It
Lastly, drug education programs should not be conducted by cops. Officer Friendly is not your friend. We have no reason to trust cops. After all, it seems like every week there’s another police related shooting. Police are not the right people to talk to kids about drugs. You know who is? People like us who are reading this blog right now. We know what we’re talking about, and we’re far more likely to be honest with our audience. I would love to sit down with a bunch of high school kids and talk to them about the truth about drugs. I’m pretty certain I can do a better job than the people currently teaching the program.
Featured Image Source: 4twentytoday.com
Got any ideas on how to improve drug education? How did the DARE program fail you? Share in the comments!
The post Lessons From the DARE Program: Why We Need to Rethink Drug Education appeared first on I Love Growing Marijuana.
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