Why Is D.A.R.E Back in Schools?

[@AboveTheNoise]

What kind of substance abuse education do you or did you have in high school and how effective was it?

[@phineasleon]

I had D.A.R.E. It was not effective at all other than presenting one charismatic officer from our town

[@theysisossenthime]

I had D.A.R.E. in the 90's. It was a joke. I tried to ask questions about challenges in the community we lived in and how we can all help. I was told I was bad for asking the questions because no kids, high school students or otherwise, used drugs or alcohol. I think the only effect the program had was introducing kids to a sales brochure of drugs.

[@Kiefsti]

I went to a Baptist school in the 90's/early 00's, we had D.A.R.E and abstinence. I remember watching my classmate Missy smoking weed behind the portable's (kind of like mobile home classrooms), whilst 5months preggo. Safe to say neither messages worked well.

[@bravebee9932]

Mine was L E A D Law Enforcement Against Drugs

[@aldenadams1991]

Attended the D.A.R.E. program as a child in the 1980's during the Regan U.S. Presidential administration and when Mr. T. endorsed it with first lady Nancy Regan. We learned what drugs were illegal and neighborhood children prepared dextromethorphan (DM) from cough syrup, ether from engine starter-fluid, etc. We formed a well regulated militia (not an illegal gang) that "would not be infringed" upon via the U.S. Bill Of Rights, and we had no firearms amongst those younger than 16 years of age (when U.S. minors can own firearms). The rest of us had hand-bows, (throwing) knives, many improvised defensive implements, swiss army knives (most of us were cub/boy scouts), etc. "The Road Warrior" (year 1981) was popular at the time. "Bike jousting" was also a thing a the time, for honor matches. Nuclear-apocalypse during "The Cold War" would lead to underground bunkers being headquarters (HQ) for many of us as we learned survival skills as we disseminated information via hand radio from map/communication rooms (some veterans taught us from "The Vietnam Conflict"). Some got PTSD early on in their lives while the rest of us are more surprised that the world has not ended and keep away from drugs that are viewed as an expensive luxury by many who survived the generation differences of how everyday is a gift.

[@erichertenstein9489]

I have a vivid memory of a cop telling a cafeteria full of elementary school kids that drug dealers were roaming the streets enticing kids to lick gummy bears covered with LSD - and that one kid ate one and died. I was still a teenager when I worked out that story was ludicrous, which undermined both my trust in what I was told about drugs and authority in general. My takeaway from that is, any program discouraging dangerous drug use should discourage its practicioners from lying to kids at all costs.

[@diegoyanesholtz212]

I think being honest is better.

[@brooklynn4049]

I remember learning about psychedelics through D.A.R.E. around fifth grade, and thinking, “wow those sound cool, I’d like to try them one day”

[@AboveTheNoise]

😬

[@The-S-H3lf-Eater]

You didn't try one right?

[@brooklynn4049]

@@The-S-H3lf-Eater I’ve tried a few with little to no results

[@Inziagold]

Red suppress trauma that was their programming

[@orionparsons7631]

Same here lmao

[@sarahclaasen4317]

Why do they not have doctors and nurses talk about drug abuse instead of police? It seems to me that this is yet another case of the rich idea that adults do not need to ask or listen to the kids in order to know what to teach them and how.

[@AboveTheNoise]

The 1980s were wild. The war on drugs needed a hero, and the Reagan admin wanted to make law enforcement that hero.

[@xGERKENATORx]

That probably would work, we know 66% of people do what the lab coats say up to and including murder. See Milgram experiment.

[@rs72098]

They actually have done that. Research the program. The FDA and pharmacists information are all over the don't use drugs pamphlets.

[@Tmanstext]

When I was a kid my elementary school had a "D.A.R.E. to Resist Drugs & Violence" campaign, since I think gang activity was a relatively big issue in the surrounding area. I always thought, even back then when I was like 12, that having a guy with three weapons strapped openly to his belt come into our class to discourage us from being violent was extremely weird. Like, sir what is the gun for lmao? Peace?

[@korvatusklok4059]

I almost failed sixth grade because my day officer lost all of our essays and claimed that we never turned them in. My mom had to call the vice principal and explained that she helped me write my essay so that I could pass.

[@jennrodriguezdaluz]

dare was something we had in elementary school, and i never saw it again in school after that. as someone who was a bit of a hypochondriac as a child, it didn't take much convincing to stay away from something if you told me it would make me sick. but i can't be sure if i didn't have dare i would have wound up any different, since my personal life experiences really didn't afford me much exposure to illicit drugs and alcohol. one thing i do remember about dare was because my mom worked for the city near the police department, we would always have a surplus of free dare shirts in every color they came in.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Any chance to still have any of those DARE shirts?

[@Ben_Kunz]

I am honestly astounded this channel doesent have millions of subscribers. When I first watch some of his videos, I never looked at the sub count, I just assumed he had millions because the quality was so great. I may not always agree with him, but those cases are so extremely rare, as he is without a doubt the most unbiased news source I know of. Love the videos, keep at it!

[@AboveTheNoise]

Thanks for this kind feedback! We really appreciate it. And thanks for watching!

[@shannonthewise9839]

Yes, a police officer talked to us in elementary. We also saw films that showed drug addicts high and in withdrawal. Officer talked about his addiction when he was a soldier in Vietnam. A few students were using. This program wasn't done in jr. high and high school. Most who I went to that class did abuse drugs.

[@sk8rdman]

We had D.A.R.E. in my elementary school around the early 2000s, and I've seen D.A.R.E. officers at local schools in recent years too. As far as I know, it hasn't gone away. Now I can't be certain that D.A.R.E. is the primary reason I've never done drugs, but it certainly didn't hurt. I never really felt a lot of pressure to do drugs, and for me, a "just say no" attitude was good enough. I think abstinence only education is still an ideal first line of defense for most students, and it's unfair to say that drug use is inevitable. We should still acknowledge that harm reduction is important for those who do have drugs in their lives, but I'd be concerned that an education that assumes students will use drugs would be worse for those who otherwise could have avoided them.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Well thought out point and well stated. Thanks!

[@GymGirl88]

Oof. It's cool that they reworked it. But they really shouldn't have cops teaching it

[@AboveTheNoise]

Yeah that's sort of DARE's signature -- having cops teaching the lessons. Doesn't look like that's going to go away anytime soon.

[@rs72098]

I think pulling in members of the FBI, and DEA agents would bring in more authority to kids and perhaps scare them away from drugs.

[@erzatheoverthinker8773]

I am currently writing a dear essay for this and I’m currently watching this video for research about how to make it more stronger for this essay and this helped me a lot thank you

[@nathanbbyrum]

When I was in middle shool I went to a very small rural school and the county sheriff's designated DARE office actually brought a sample case with ACTUAL DRUGS in little bottles in the case-- just so we would know how to recognize them!! All I could think about was how I could get my hands on that case . . . . . LOL

[@daniellabirch2600]

I graduated high school in 2005. I distinctly remember DARE from the 5th grade and I think for kids that young, an abstinence program is probably fine but there were definitely times when the fact that a cop was telling us what to do got awkward with the black and brown kids. We also had more health based anti drug programs but they weren't so much about harm reduction. I think a health based approach probably makes the most sense especially with older kids who can sense BS right away.

[@dhindaravrel8712]

It might not make it less likely for people to use, but education about drugs is still important, so people can make an informed choice whether they want to use or not.

[@connecticutaggie]

I agree that a one size fits all approach will not work. It is good that they the new program was based on an outcome focused study but if the goal was to produce a single program that too directed (Ex: "Define a program that police officers can present to students and works for all ages and regions" ) then that will still be doomed to fail. It think officer presentations to students that respect their authority (Ex: White Elementary age suburban students) will likely work but there are some situations (Ex: Black urban teenagers) where an officer presentation could result in the them demonstrating their independence, distrust, and defiance of that officer by doing exactly what he told them not to do. As you said, it's complicated.

[@AboveTheNoise]

Yep, those are astute observations. Thanks for watching and sharing!

[@talevita]

My son graduated from dare today. His new shirt fits and there are no spelling errors on his certificate. I wonder what dare was like when I was in elementary school. The only thing I remember is that the letters are red.

[@vanessastegall]

I remember going through the DARE program in 5th grade. When I was in 10th grade I learned about the dangers of drugs. I made a promise to my Health Teacher that I wouldn’t do drugs.

[@alberttran9111]

Next week is National Red Ribbon Week. Happy National DARE Week. I remembered having a red ribbon by in my elementary school day. DARE actually helped me out to stay away from drugs. It is interesting the video showed a study that those who participated in DARE have an increased of drug use from 3 to 5 percent. Finally beside this, I wonder when Above the Noise will post a video about Autism: Disability vs. Diversity?

[@AboveTheNoise]

We are currently working on that autism episode! Thanks for asking!! Look for it to drop in December!

[@alberttran9111]

@@AboveTheNoise You welcome

[@Drixenol86]

Saw a bunch of D.A.R.E. activists outside the local Giant. They had a table with brochures and flyers.

[@brainwashalpha5495]

thank you for this.

[@AboveTheNoise]

You're entirely welcome!

[@brainwashalpha5495]

@@AboveTheNoise our school just started cracking down on drugs and now there are multiple officers everywhere in the building. its really scary because some of us have medical reasons to take medicine at school and they still look at us funny

[@AricaPrater]

I have d.a.r.e in Ridgeview middle school sense 7th grade. But it's not very effective anymore because police officers have other important issues to deal with then drug prevention. Like internet safety, human trafficking prevention and violence prevention. I've seen some easy educational cartoon videos on KZbin a lot and it saved time.

[@EZR09]

I was in the D.A.R.E program in the fifth grade and I don't do drugs at all even though I refused to do an essay and I got away with it when I wasn't supposed to.

[@harsharnkaur2075]

I would say the shift that you were talking about with sex education still hasn’t really happened. At least here in indiana.

[@AboveTheNoise]

True - the shift towards harm reduction sex ed is happening in places like California and New York. But definitely not in a LOT of states

[@RetroGaming_07]

As a millenial and a former alcoholic I learned quite a bit about addiction and even I already knew that dare was all properganda and all about the money and dare just wanted to spread fear about drugs. Not all drugs are bad and in my honest opinion there are better ways to teach kids, teens and even young adults about all drugs in general and that not all drugs are bad but it does depend on what kind of drug is it and how it effects you. Doctors, nurses and anyone in the medical field or any field in mental health and addiction in general are way more knowledgeable on these subjects than cops will ever be. That's just my honest opinion on this subject.

[@creepyjimcrowjoebiden9293]

I wasn't even thinking about drugs or smoking before D.A.R.E. came along telling me about it also don't do drugs kids it's not good for you

[@PresentsOfNature]

We never had a cop come into the school but instead heard from a recovering, ex-con during an assembly. I was like NOPE, never want to go to jail! I just need the program to get the really young across a certain age...after that, you're on your own 🤷🏾‍♀️. These drugs our here now we need all the help, whatever will help!

[@shadykitty7493]

they want more kids on drugs

[@Calpsotoma]

Not to be a NARC, but the fact that street drugs have no way to make sure you're getting what you're supposed to be getting makes harm reduction far less effective at keeping users safe.

[@sparli.n]

One harm reduction thought is always testing your drugs, and to use a small amount slowly; it allows you to better react to unintended side effects before they can become fatal. Another is to never use alone, which vastly increases one’s likelihood to live in the case of an OD. These are things that a lot of people don’t do when taking/consuming drugs, but they lead to safer outcomes!

[@finallymadeit88]

Lol we did the program as kids and once I got older I saw all my graduating class all on drugs. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ So no it did not work

[@linkwpc]

It worked on me. I liked Dare.

[@AboveTheNoise]

DARE likes you, too!

[@Thevaporwaveraver]

Testing kits are a must always test the drug things like fake LSD can kill

[@boogerbrains138]

DARE was fun I thought lol

[@ToonShader]

It was like a free period

[@roxygirl7572]

THAN BRING DARE BACK IN A BETTER DIFFERENT WAY!!

[@heatherwanamaker7904]

i like this video

[@Inziagold]

The reason officers are not the substance abuse counselors is they do not understand addiction is a disease that is passed on genetically, that requires treatment. Officers taught their graduates it's a choice. By that misinformation they cast judgement , rather than being grateful they did not inherit the disease their loved one did. The disease is rooted in religion that teaches us as children Jesus turning water into wine was a miracle. After teaching the apples tree caused sin. Our ancestors took of fermented fruits and passed on the disease, that made way for other substances. No salvation there in the god we were taught to believe in as children. No healing comes from the officer who makes his profit from the crime religion taught was a miracle.

[@Royal_Blueforever]

In Malaysia, we have D.A.R.E but we call it PPDa (Pendidikan Pencegahan Dadah: Translated to English: Drug Prevention Education). Even though there are no drug cases associated with kids. Malaysia tries to prevent drugs from going in kids lives. Since it can be fatal, Malaysia tries stop drugs in kids.

[@Skoopyghost]

Addict here. The only two things that work for me to 'just say no" is wrecking my life until I do the 12 steps. My ego is bigger than your car when I relapse until something happens where I have to drop my ego.

[@olbakerman1672]

All dare does is teach kids about drugs. Its a joke.

[@Foreverlost77]

The Dare program did work. If you need drugs get help. Remember Jesus loves you.

[@cevatkokbudak6414]

It did not work lmao infact it may made more drug addicts by introducing it to the kids

[@go4damo]

I thought Democrats didn't like cops