Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) is a household name across the country. DARE was founded in 1983, and became government-backed in 1986, reached peak popularity in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and was implemented in 75% of schools across the United States. Whether you have experienced the program personally or have heard the tales from family and social media, you are likely familiar with its mission: to teach about and prevent substance abuse among school-aged children.
The goal of DARE was more than a quick lesson about the danger of drugs. Schools with DARE programs typically offered 17 45-minute lessons throughout the school year, each delivered by police officers. Oftentimes, lessons focused on the harms and consequences of drugs and gang violence, along with prevention methods such as resisting social pressure and learning to healthily cope with hard life circumstances.
Although solid on paper, the execution and repercussions of DARE were immense. DARE, with its popular slogan “Just Say No,” focused on total abstinence of drugs, and the fear and consequences of drug use. This actively fed into America’s rampant paranoia about the seemingly imminent threat of drugs and related crimes.
The War on Drugs focused largely on prosecution and increased law enforcement to do so. Federal funding for drug abuse programs climbed from $1.11 billion to $1.56 billion under Reagan’s first term (1981-1985), according to the GAO. Consequences of increased drug prohibition were often politically motivated, with bans of opium fueled by the Cold War on grounds of it being “communist.” Crack cocaine was seen in rising amounts in the US, aided by the Iran-Contra affair and oversupply from Cartels, among others. This epidemic was felt the strongest by Black communities, many of whom were struggling in the unstable socioeconomics in the early ‘80s, along with over-persecution due to racial bias by law enforcement.
This gave a gateway for law enforcement to punish and benefit from those who didn’t have the power to change it, with the expansion of civil asset forfeiture laws giving law enforcement direct benefit from making more arrests, as they could now turn a profit at the expense of Black communities.
The context of the ‘80s greatly explains why DARE became so popular, while also explaining why it failed so tremendously. The political climate utilized fear as a way to stop drug use – and laws closely backed this up as minimum sentences for drug use, possession, and selling became more common. The possession of five grams of crack cocaine could now land you behind bars for the same amount of time as 500 due to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, not focusing on the root cause and allowing the extreme punishment of users.
Fear of drugs, however, will not prevent usage. During the War on Drugs, Police officers would often overexaggerate the harms of drugs – pushing the belief that marijuana would make you “turn to violent crime and murder,” and perpetuating the fear of the rising number of “crack babies.” DARE employed scare tactics and threats to those who used drugs, which only brought more stress to students and parents, while failing to focus on risk assessment, the complexities of what leads to drug use, and how to deal with realistic situations that students would experience. Police would often take advantage of students’ stress, with cases of law enforcement using children as informants on the drug activity of their parents, whether it was legal or not. Making exaggerated statements that contradicted reality and using children’s fear against them increased distrust between students and the law, leading to a culture of uncertainty about drugs among students. Mixed messaging between the idealized world of complete abstinence from drugs and the reality of drug use creates an environment of experimenting with drugs while not knowing proper precautions, and fails to prevent addiction, legal repercussions, and death.
The statistics from the time show the monumental failure of DARE education, as it created only a .011 correlation difference between those who received DARE education and those who didn’t, according to a meta-analysis. This number would have to be 20 times larger to be considered significant. Another study conducted by Dennis P. Rosenbaum and Gordon S. Hanson in 1998 showed that suburban students were actually more likely to use drugs post-DARE education.
DARE clearly needed reform, which it underwent in 2009. The new curriculum “Keepin’ it REAL (Refuse, Explain, Avoid, Leave),” focuses on making thoughtful decisions, leaning away from being purely drug oriented. DARE now includes talks about medication safety, social media, mental health, case studies, and risk identification. Instead of scare tactics and overexaggeration, the program teaches harm reduction and uses community-based prevention, along with resources for teachers and parents to lead the conversation, to build trust in what students are being told.
With this change came success. According to American Addiction Centers, DARE education leads to a reduction in drug use among those who received it, while also addressing current concerns, such as fentanyl awareness being increased, while sections on marijuana have been removed from the year five curriculum in Washington state, citing that introduction of drugs to those unexposed may lead to an increase in curiosity and experimentation.
Though effective, DARE still isn’t perfect. In the end, the best prevention methods are those closest to the person you are trying to teach. This means establishing strong family bonds and having a community to support you in times when drug use is more prevalent, such as big transitions and the newfound freedom that often comes throughout life, and especially in college. Understanding how to recognize someone who is struggling and the methods to support them is crucial, along with knowing what to do in the worst-case scenario. Learning how to assess risk and reduce potential harm is a toolset needed when navigating an unideal world, one much different from DARE’s original curriculum.
Further information and help
Addiction Services | Washington County, OR
Intervention: Help a loved one overcome addiction – Mayo Clinic
Opioid overdose | Well-Being | University of Washington
Preventing Opioid Overdose | Overdose Prevention | CDC
List of Sources
ACLU History: Black America: Casualties of the ‘War on Drugs’ | American Civil Liberties Union
America’s War on Drugs — 50 Years Later
In ‘When Crack Was King,’ Donovan X. Ramsey looks back on the drug epidemic : NPR
The Contras, Cocaine, and U.S. Covert Operations
The Downfall of D.A.R.E.: How a Failed Program Shaped Substance Use Trends | Silvermist Recovery
DARE’s ‘just say no’ drug education didn’t work. Here’s what could : NPR
D.A.R.E. America and the D.A.R.E. Program | D.A.R.E. America
Drug Abuse Resistance Education – Wikipedia
Preventing Drug Misuse and Addiction: The Best Strategy | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Project D.A.R.E. Outcome Effectiveness Revisited – PMC
GGD-85-61 Reported Federal Drug Abuse Expenditures–Fiscal Years 1981 to 1985