Stats & Trends in Teen Drug Use: Past and Present
Many adults old enough to have teens in the household will recall the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) campaign of the ‘80s, initially launched through a partnership between the LAPD and LAUSD. Incredibly, the program has been around for 35 years at this point, although many people don’t even know it’s still around. Because of this, the program proved to be so ineffective and teen drug use is increasing. The program aimed to educate teens about the dangers of drug use and compel them to sign a pledge agreeing not to use drugs or join gangs. Even as late as 2002, the program enjoyed an estimated budget of around $10 million, but following reporting on the effectiveness of the program (or lack thereof), funding had dropped to $3.7 million by 2010. Despite attempts to overhaul the program using current research to create a relevant curriculum, the program has continued to flag, at least in the U.S. Unfortunately, the original intent of D.A.R.E. was crime prevention, not nece...