Remember the D.A.R.E. program? The D.A.R.E. program, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was a staple of childhood for millions of American children in the ’80s and ’90s. It set out to tell kids about the perils of alcohol and other substances, but there was a catch: it didn’t work.
The D.A.R.E. program’s effectiveness was measured many times during the first decade it was introduced, and it was found to be both costly and ineffective. People became so passionate about the idea of D.A.R.E., however, that they were willing to overlook its many shortcomings. When you look at who started the D.A.R.E. program, its failures and continued use begin to make a little more sense. Los Angeles police officers founded it in conjunction with school teachers, rather than researchers and behavioral experts. The architects of the initiative believed that telling kids to just say “no” and showing them how substance use and alcohol could negatively affect the body would lead to lower rates of consumption.
This video from Weird History explains why D.A.R.E never worked, talks about why Alabama’s Jeff Sessions thought it worked, and talks about the newest program called Keepin’ It Real, which studies suggests that it does work! Enjoy below!
