D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

• DATE: Established in 1983

DEFINITION: Drug Abuse Resistance Education is a combined program of law enforcement agencies and school systems around the world, educating students about the consequences of drug use, gangs, and violence.

Background

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program was established by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1983 to address drug addiction and violence among children and adolescents. The program received early support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and many private donors. In its early days, D.A.R.E., under its cofounders, LAPD officers Glenn Levant and Daryl Gates (who later became LAPD chief), focused both on demand reduction (decreasing the desire for drugs by making students aware of the physical, personal, and social consequences of drug use) and, with law enforcement agencies, on supply reduction (decreasing drug availability to those of all ages at risk of developing an addiction).

D.A.R.E. is a decentralized non-profit that relies on the collaboration between local school districts and law enforcement agencies. D.A.R.E. provides online access to curriculum guides and instructor tools. Instructors, who are local law enforcement officers or police officers, must hold the minimum training standards for peace officer status in their state. They must then complete two years as a peace officer with full police powers, along with an eighty-hour course, D.A.R.E. officer training (DOT).

Early research investigating the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. programs indicated that their effects were minimal, and one study (published in 2004) argued that the program did not warrant funding. The authors of this critical study also indicated, however, that most studies of D.A.R.E. did not use a pretest/post-test format. Using this more rigorous format, the study authors added, D.A.R.E. might be shown to be more effective. However, a 2009 report by the US Bureau of Justice Assistance reviewed thirty evaluations of D.A.R.E.'s effectiveness and found no significant long-term effects on participants' drug use.

In the early 1980s, before the existence of programs like D.A.R.E., 66 percent of high school students had used illegal drugs; in 2008, illegal drug use among high school students had decreased to about 47 percent, although the impact of D.A.R.E. on this decline is thought to be negligible. The D.A.R.E. program was revamped in 2001 and again in 2008 to make it more effective. D.A.R.E. altered its curriculum several times to improve its effectiveness.

In 2009, D.A.R.E. introduced its "Keepin' It REAL (Refuse. Explain. Avoid. Leave.)" program, which focuses less on drugs and more on improving students' decision-making skills. Based on science and peer interaction, the program has been offered in multicultural, rural, and Spanish versions. Deviating from earlier frameworks, modern D.A.R.E. programs aim to be culturally competent, focusing on science-based interventions and peer interaction. The curriculum addresses coping skills, support networks, peer pressure, peer support, and mental health aspects of substance abuse. The revised program showed progress in preventing drug use among students. D.A.R.E. operates in every US state and in close to thirty other countries. Reviews of the program's impact are ongoing.

Mission and Goals

The mission of D.A.R.E. is to provide students with information and skills for making good and healthy decisions for safer and healthier lives. While the program originally dealt with the topics of drug use and violence, it has been expanded to include gangs, Internet safety, and the prevention of cyberbullying, and its focus has shifted to improving communication and decision-making skills. D.A.R.E. also attempts to establish positive relationships between police officers and schoolchildren by allowing officers to visit schools to speak in a friendly, approachable manner.

All officers have mentors who are senior D.A.R.E. officers. Mentors teach the classroom officers how to effectively present material to children, inform them of helpful interactive activities, and provide further tips on teaching about drugs and violence. All D.A.R.E. officers provide students with skills to help them make informed decisions in and out of the school environment. Doing so helps the students build self-esteem, stand firm against peer pressure, and develop the courage to refuse drugs or to refuse to participate in violent or dangerous activities.

Bibliography

Bergman, Greg, and Aubrey Fox. Lessons from the Battle over D.A.R.E.: The Complicated Relationship between Research and Practice. US Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2009. Office of Justice Programs, www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/lessons-battle-over-dare-complicated-relationship-between-research. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Berry, Matt. "Does the New DARE Program Work?" American Addiction Centers, 11 Jan. 2024, americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/new-dare-program-work. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Cima, Rosie. "DARE: The Anti-Drug Program That Never Actually Worked." Priceonomics, 19 Dec. 2016, priceonomics.com/dare-the-anti-drug-program-that-never-actually. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Ennett, Susan T., et al. “How Effective Is Drug Abuse Resistance Education? A Meta-Analysis of Project DARE Outcome Evaluations.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 84, no. 9, 1994, pp. 1394-401, doi:10.2105/ajph.84.9.1394. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Gaines, Lee V., and Nicole Cohen. "'Just Say No' Didn't Actually Protect Students from Drugs. Here's What Could." NPR, 19 Dec. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211217460/fentanyl-drug-education-dare. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Hecht, Michael L., et al. “Culturally Grounded Substance Use Prevention: An Evaluation of the Keepin' It R.E.A.L. Curriculum.” Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, vol. 4, no. 4, 2003, pp. 233-48. Springer Link, doi:10.1023/A:1026016131401. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

"The History of D.A.R.E. " DARE, dare.org/history. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Nordrum, Amy. "The New D.A.R.E. Program—This One Works." Scientific American, 10 Sept. 2014, www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-d-a-r-e-program-this-one-works. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

Rosenbaum, Dennis P., and Gordon S. Hanson. "Assessing the Effects of School-Based Drug Education: A Six-Year Multilevel Analysis of Project D.A.R.E." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, vol. 35, no. 4, 1998, pp. 381–412.

West, Steven L., and K. K. O’Neal. “Project D.A.R.E. Outcome Effectiveness Revisited.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 94, no. 6, 2004, pp. 1027–29.