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**Coolguy** · 09-20-2005, 10:20 AM

DARE becoming rarer
Colleen Sparks | The Arizona Republic | 09/19/2005

Phoenix is the latest Valley city to cut the well-known DARE program from its schools, citing budget constraints and lack of evidence that it prevents students from using drugs.

Mesa and Scottsdale police already cut DARE while other cities, including Chandler and Paradise Valley, have managed to hold onto it.

Schools have been replacing it with other anti-drug programs, including one where police officers teach students about the legal consequences of being caught with drugs and the dangers of drinking and driving. advertisement

DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, has drawn criticism in studies the past several years. The then General Accounting Office in a 2002 study, for example, found no "significant differences" in illicit drug use between students who took DARE and those who didn't.

But Valley parents, police and teachers relate countless stories about how DARE works.

"I've not only seen the effect it had on the students, but I've had students from the past come back" to say it helped them, said Arlen Sykes, a teacher at Kyrene de la Colina Elementary School in Ahwatukee.

One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said.

Phoenix police liked the program but couldn't afford to keep it and still have enough money to combat crime, said Kim Humphrey, public-affairs commander for the police department. The department will use the $500,000 DARE costs to add a vice squad to fight prostitution and related crimes, he said.

Phoenix police started cutting back DARE a few years ago because the city faced a budget crunch, said Phoenix police Sgt. Colin Pierce, a former DARE officer who now heads the school resource officer program.

Six DARE police officers and a police sergeant served Phoenix schools last school year, which was down from 18 officers and two sergeants about two years ago, Pierce said. Phoenix paid the entire cost of the DARE program, though in some cities schools help pay for it.

About 50 law enforcement agencies in Arizona still teach DARE, said Dave Parsons, a DARE officer in Chandler and president of the Arizona DARE Officers Association.

In DARE, police officers are assigned fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms to visit for 10 weeks. Officers offer students ways to say "no" to drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

In a sixth-grade classroom at Hartford Elementary School in Chandler recently, DARE Officer Daniel Chavarria talked about an underage college student who died from excessive alcohol consumption, and warned students of dangers linked to smoking and drinking.

Rene Montaño, 12, said he learned that drugs can cause short-term memory loss or death and he "would always say 'no' to drugs and alcohol because Officer Dan taught us a lot."

Chavarria said the DARE officers are also a source of support for kids.

Phoenix police Sgt. James Collins, a former DARE program supervisor, agreed. "To see the relationship between the officers and the kids . . . was priceless," he explained.

Years ago in the Madison School District, students and staff produced a musical about a DARE officer.

Not all are abandoning the program.

DARE is in three private schools and two public schools in Paradise Valley, said Police Chief John Wintersteen. "It's really valued by the parents and the schools," he said.

A Nov. 12 vintage car show will benefit the police department's DARE program, he said. The fund-raiser will help pay for T-shirts and other extras for the program.

Other schools are trying new anti-drug programs.

Starting this winter in Ahwatukee elementary schools, administrators will teach fifth-graders how to say "no" to tobacco, alcohol and drugs, said Samantha Heinrich, who manages prevention programs in the Kyrene Elementary School District. She hopes police officers will visit the classes.

The district will also provide workshops for parents on helping their children make healthy decisions, Heinrich said.

Next year in the Scottsdale Unified School District, where DARE ended in city schools a few years ago, teachers will help middle school students learn to say "yes" to positive behaviors, said Marla Abramowitz, prevention coordinator for the district.

teufelfisch · 09-20-2005, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colleen Sparks

One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said.

I would like to hear from Alexis in six years, when she has heard more than one viewpoint and knows the truth. I doubt she'll still believe what she learned in DARE.

vladimir · 09-20-2005, 01:07 PM

i never thought id ever touch drugs in 8th grade either, that was only two years after dare. hasnt even gotten to high school yet, that will change things.

Buzzby · 09-20-2005, 03:19 PM

Quote:

But Valley parents, police and teachers relate countless stories about how DARE works.

"I've not only seen the effect it had on the students, but I've had students from the past come back" to say it helped them, said Arlen Sykes, a teacher at Kyrene de la Colina Elementary School in Ahwatukee.

One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said.

Isn't it interesting how people will turn to anecdotal evidence over data-based evidence when it happens to match their preconceptions? It reminds me of the Intelligent Design debate. DARE, and prohibitionism in general, is basically a religion - something based on unfounded belief rather than knowledge.

yuri420 · 09-20-2005, 05:35 PM

I recall being in year 8, hating those above me and the 'cool' kids in my year who smoked pot because it was evil and therefore so were the people who did it.

. After smoking marijuana in yr11, i then felt the kids' eyes on me, like i looked at the older studnets when i was their age...DARE and similar programs are dangerous because they show all illegal drugs as evil and as soon as those who are underprivilleged and took it found out that DARE was lying about marijuana, they assume that everything they ever heard from DARE was a lie, and see no harm in Heroin because they disrespect authority figures and whatever they say.

king cola · 09-25-2005, 09:06 PM

"One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said."

If she doesn't drink, smoke pot, or do anything else while in high school, wait til she goes to college

Me and my sis were partiers in high school, we didn't have to lie to our parents about where we went, they knew we drank or smoked some pot, they didn't say too much, was no different than what they did at our ages. They were lenient as long as we didn't drink and drive. For the kids that spent most of their time studying, some went to partiers here and there but didn't really do anything. They are in college now and away from their parents and are doing things i never thought they would have.

This one girl my sis was friends with, she was a high honors student in high school, spent her weekends studying, think she always went to church, i'm sure she was just like the 13 year old girl mentioned in the article when she was her age. Even in high school wouldn't drink or use drugs or go to parties. My sis heard from someone who goes to college with this girl that shes wild. Now she drinks, screws around, smokes pot, has used ecstasy, she was a DARE graduate.

I had a friend tell me and a few others that we were stupid for drinking or smoking pot, think it was around my sophmore year in high school, then i ended up seein him with a joint in his hand at a party. He stopped believing propaganda, he started using other off topic drugs, another DARE graduate. At that time i'm sure he also thought he would never do anything either.

DARE really is a failed program.

PotShot · 09-25-2005, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzby

Isn't it interesting how people will turn to anecdotal evidence over data-based evidence when it happens to match their preconceptions? It reminds me of the Intelligent Design debate. DARE, and prohibitionism in general, is basically a religion - something based on unfounded belief rather than knowledge.

Right on!

Quote:

One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said

Are not parents the anti-drug? We do not need another bloated, inefficient prohibition enforcing money-drain to teach kids the pitfalls of substance abuse. When the parents do not wish to teach there children then let the system educate those unfortunate souls, but if it is the norm for children to not "learn that they were bad for me", I think we need to be examining social policies other than D.A.R.E.

king cola · 09-26-2005, 05:47 AM

Are not parents the anti-drug? We do not need another bloated, inefficient prohibition enforcing money-drain to teach kids the pitfalls of substance abuse.

When we were in high school my parents were pretty lenient toward pot but my mom was never completely happy that we did it only because of it being illegal, we were lectured about off topic drugs through my fathers experience years ago. I liked listening to him talk about it, learned more from him than i ever could in DARE. In Dare we weren't even allowed to ask the high schoolers who came in to talk to us if they used drugs. It's stupid not to, they were there to tell us not to do it but yet we couldn't ask them that question because our teacher said not to ask them anything personal like that. It doesn't help much just by them saying they knew someone who had a drug problem or whatever, but i have a really good memory and don't even recall them ever saying anything like that either. People learn more from someone who experienced using drugs.

Listening to my father, yea i used pot, but he didn't have any problems from it when he used it. I took what he said about off topic drugs seriously because of what he went through from using them and i don't bother messing around with them.

It really should be parents educating their kids. I went into DARE and when they would talk about pot i just kept my mouth shut, i knew about my parents past with using it years ago, my father used it more than my mom ever did though. I knew his friends who smoked it too, they were average people who had kids themselves. Some of them didn't have a strung out image to them or anything. I had to sit there and take in the propaganda, if that wasn't enough, one year in high school i had to take in more propaganda when some guys came into school to talk to us about drug use. They were talking about pot being more potent than what our parents smoked years ago, i didn't even wanna be in there, all i could do is listen and roll my eyes. Then they were talking about people lacing pot to get people to use other drugs, i thought that was bullsh*t because i never hear of that going on and it would cost too much money for them to lace it. If other people believed half the sh*t they told them about pot, good for them, but i wasn't one of those people.

ssj3gotenks · 09-26-2005, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzby

Isn't it interesting how people will turn to anecdotal evidence over data-based evidence when it happens to match their preconceptions? It reminds me of the Intelligent Design debate. DARE, and prohibitionism in general, is basically a religion - something based on unfounded belief rather than knowledge.

Buzzby, it's things like this that make me believe that you are truly a valuable person to helping people see past propaganda and also the marijuana legalization movement. I really believe that whether people decide to smoke mj or not, your thoughts really help people see the truth from the false.

I am highly confident that you know what you're talking about and i would encourage you to keep spreading the message

09-20-2005, 10:20 AM	#1
Coolguy Subscriber Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 2,884 Grams: 16,780.73 Groans: 2 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 61 Thanked 90 Times in 44 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: -1.000%	AZ: DARE Becoming Rarer DARE becoming rarer Colleen Sparks \| The Arizona Republic \| 09/19/2005 Phoenix is the latest Valley city to cut the well-known DARE program from its schools, citing budget constraints and lack of evidence that it prevents students from using drugs. Mesa and Scottsdale police already cut DARE while other cities, including Chandler and Paradise Valley, have managed to hold onto it. Schools have been replacing it with other anti-drug programs, including one where police officers teach students about the legal consequences of being caught with drugs and the dangers of drinking and driving. advertisement DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, has drawn criticism in studies the past several years. The then General Accounting Office in a 2002 study, for example, found no "significant differences" in illicit drug use between students who took DARE and those who didn't. But Valley parents, police and teachers relate countless stories about how DARE works. "I've not only seen the effect it had on the students, but I've had students from the past come back" to say it helped them, said Arlen Sykes, a teacher at Kyrene de la Colina Elementary School in Ahwatukee. One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said. Phoenix police liked the program but couldn't afford to keep it and still have enough money to combat crime, said Kim Humphrey, public-affairs commander for the police department. The department will use the $500,000 DARE costs to add a vice squad to fight prostitution and related crimes, he said. Phoenix police started cutting back DARE a few years ago because the city faced a budget crunch, said Phoenix police Sgt. Colin Pierce, a former DARE officer who now heads the school resource officer program. Six DARE police officers and a police sergeant served Phoenix schools last school year, which was down from 18 officers and two sergeants about two years ago, Pierce said. Phoenix paid the entire cost of the DARE program, though in some cities schools help pay for it. About 50 law enforcement agencies in Arizona still teach DARE, said Dave Parsons, a DARE officer in Chandler and president of the Arizona DARE Officers Association. In DARE, police officers are assigned fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms to visit for 10 weeks. Officers offer students ways to say "no" to drugs, alcohol and tobacco. In a sixth-grade classroom at Hartford Elementary School in Chandler recently, DARE Officer Daniel Chavarria talked about an underage college student who died from excessive alcohol consumption, and warned students of dangers linked to smoking and drinking. Rene Montaño, 12, said he learned that drugs can cause short-term memory loss or death and he "would always say 'no' to drugs and alcohol because Officer Dan taught us a lot." Chavarria said the DARE officers are also a source of support for kids. Phoenix police Sgt. James Collins, a former DARE program supervisor, agreed. "To see the relationship between the officers and the kids . . . was priceless," he explained. Years ago in the Madison School District, students and staff produced a musical about a DARE officer. Not all are abandoning the program. DARE is in three private schools and two public schools in Paradise Valley, said Police Chief John Wintersteen. "It's really valued by the parents and the schools," he said. A Nov. 12 vintage car show will benefit the police department's DARE program, he said. The fund-raiser will help pay for T-shirts and other extras for the program. Other schools are trying new anti-drug programs. Starting this winter in Ahwatukee elementary schools, administrators will teach fifth-graders how to say "no" to tobacco, alcohol and drugs, said Samantha Heinrich, who manages prevention programs in the Kyrene Elementary School District. She hopes police officers will visit the classes. The district will also provide workshops for parents on helping their children make healthy decisions, Heinrich said. Next year in the Scottsdale Unified School District, where DARE ended in city schools a few years ago, teachers will help middle school students learn to say "yes" to positive behaviors, said Marla Abramowitz, prevention coordinator for the district. __________________ Now, there are four states of being in the cannabis, or Marijuana, society: Cool, Groovy, Hip, and Square. The square is seldom if ever cool. He is not "with it," that is, he doesn't know "what's happening." But if he manages to figure it out, he moves up a notch to "hip." And if he can bring himself to approve of what is happening, he becomes "groovy." After that, with much luck and perseverance, he can rise to the rank of "cool." A cool guy... cool guy... cool guy... Posting Guidelines

09-20-2005, 01:07 PM	#3
vladimir Sr. Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 464 Grams: 3,320.45 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	i never thought id ever touch drugs in 8th grade either, that was only two years after dare. hasnt even gotten to high school yet, that will change things. __________________ If a drug (or technique or process) were ever to be discovered which would consistently produce a plus four experience in all human beings, it is conceivable that it would signal the ultimate evolution, and perhaps the end of, the human experiment.

09-20-2005, 05:35 PM	#5
yuri420 Jr. Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 184 Grams: 1,143.15 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	I recall being in year 8, hating those above me and the 'cool' kids in my year who smoked pot because it was evil and therefore so were the people who did it. . After smoking marijuana in yr11, i then felt the kids' eyes on me, like i looked at the older studnets when i was their age...DARE and similar programs are dangerous because they show all illegal drugs as evil and as soon as those who are underprivilleged and took it found out that DARE was lying about marijuana, they assume that everything they ever heard from DARE was a lie, and see no harm in Heroin because they disrespect authority figures and whatever they say. __________________ Think a full-body contact, fast-moving and vicious game with no offsides. Think Aussie Rules...http://www.afl.com.au/ Know the truth about Israel..http://www.jpost.com/

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09-25-2005, 09:06 PM	#6
king cola Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,638 Grams: 7,256.60 Groans: 0 Groaned at 2 Times in 2 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 261 Times in 185 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: -1.000%	"One of his former students, Alexis Runninger, 13, now an Ahwatukee eighth-grader, said she hears classmates talk about using marijuana but she wouldn't consider it because of DARE. "I would have never learned that they were bad for me," Alexis said." If she doesn't drink, smoke pot, or do anything else while in high school, wait til she goes to college Me and my sis were partiers in high school, we didn't have to lie to our parents about where we went, they knew we drank or smoked some pot, they didn't say too much, was no different than what they did at our ages. They were lenient as long as we didn't drink and drive. For the kids that spent most of their time studying, some went to partiers here and there but didn't really do anything. They are in college now and away from their parents and are doing things i never thought they would have. This one girl my sis was friends with, she was a high honors student in high school, spent her weekends studying, think she always went to church, i'm sure she was just like the 13 year old girl mentioned in the article when she was her age. Even in high school wouldn't drink or use drugs or go to parties. My sis heard from someone who goes to college with this girl that shes wild. Now she drinks, screws around, smokes pot, has used ecstasy, she was a DARE graduate. I had a friend tell me and a few others that we were stupid for drinking or smoking pot, think it was around my sophmore year in high school, then i ended up seein him with a joint in his hand at a party. He stopped believing propaganda, he started using other off topic drugs, another DARE graduate. At that time i'm sure he also thought he would never do anything either. DARE really is a failed program.

09-26-2005, 05:47 AM	#8
king cola Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,638 Grams: 7,256.60 Groans: 0 Groaned at 2 Times in 2 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 261 Times in 185 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: -1.000%	Are not parents the anti-drug? We do not need another bloated, inefficient prohibition enforcing money-drain to teach kids the pitfalls of substance abuse. When we were in high school my parents were pretty lenient toward pot but my mom was never completely happy that we did it only because of it being illegal, we were lectured about off topic drugs through my fathers experience years ago. I liked listening to him talk about it, learned more from him than i ever could in DARE. In Dare we weren't even allowed to ask the high schoolers who came in to talk to us if they used drugs. It's stupid not to, they were there to tell us not to do it but yet we couldn't ask them that question because our teacher said not to ask them anything personal like that. It doesn't help much just by them saying they knew someone who had a drug problem or whatever, but i have a really good memory and don't even recall them ever saying anything like that either. People learn more from someone who experienced using drugs. Listening to my father, yea i used pot, but he didn't have any problems from it when he used it. I took what he said about off topic drugs seriously because of what he went through from using them and i don't bother messing around with them. It really should be parents educating their kids. I went into DARE and when they would talk about pot i just kept my mouth shut, i knew about my parents past with using it years ago, my father used it more than my mom ever did though. I knew his friends who smoked it too, they were average people who had kids themselves. Some of them didn't have a strung out image to them or anything. I had to sit there and take in the propaganda, if that wasn't enough, one year in high school i had to take in more propaganda when some guys came into school to talk to us about drug use. They were talking about pot being more potent than what our parents smoked years ago, i didn't even wanna be in there, all i could do is listen and roll my eyes. Then they were talking about people lacing pot to get people to use other drugs, i thought that was bullsht because i never hear of that going on and it would cost too much money for them to lace it. If other people believed half the sht they told them about pot, good for them, but i wasn't one of those people.

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