Drug Abuse In Schools. Parents think the safest place for their school age children is in school, but they could be surprised at the statistics of drug and alcohol abuse.

Drug Abuse In Schools

Most people think the safest place for their school-age children to be is in school. Parents send their children to school for an education in "reading, writing and arithmetic." However, is this the only education that they are getting? Based on the article from The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, September 6, 2001, the answer is definitely "no." Drugs seem to be a focal point in our schools, and the demand increases as the children reach high school. A survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported an alarming statistic: sixty-one percent of U.S. high school students and forty percent of middle school students say drugs are used and sold in schools. -

Many of us have heard of a group called (D.A.R.E.) Drug Abuse Resistance Education, which was believed to be a successful system to control drug abuse and the most widely used in schools.

English: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (May 31, 2005) &ndas...

A WVPD vehicle, outfitted for the D.A.R.E. program...

English: ROTA, Spain (June 5, 2008) Sgt. Stephen R...

These classes are usually taught by police officers to children ranging from fourth grade to junior high school. The National Center on Addition and Substance Abuse reported that this system does not actually have much impact on drug abuse for school age children. A study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found no differences ten years later for students who took the course in D.A.R.E. with the students who didn't take the course. However, the D.A.R.E.'s president, Glenn Levant, said these studies were based on old D.A.R.E. statistics and the organization has upgraded its curriculum. Mr. Levant's bottom line: "Drug use in young people overall is down since D.A.R.E. was put in place."

The zero-tolerance policies in schools do not seem to be successful either. Due to the tough penalties, it discourages students from turning in their classmates who use illegal drugs. The students...