# 38

One View of the D.A.R.E. Program

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) commenced in 1983 in L.A., California.  It spread across the country placing law enforcement officers inside classrooms as "teachers" for students in 4th through 6th grades.  Much of the literature indicates that DARE instructors hammered the licit substances of nicotine and alcohol and that the underlying philosophy was that the licit substances were "gateways" to the illicit substances.  The courses were challenged as being more political than they were scientific and follow-up studies suggest that a boomerang effect resulted in greater use/abuse found in the program's graduates.

The below article contains some observations and findings on the development of the well-intentioned program.

https://priceonomics.com/dare-the-anti-drug-program-that-never-actually/