cannabisnews.com: Sheriff Fights To Save DARE 





Sheriff Fights To Save DARE 
Posted by FoM on December 07, 1999 at 20:26:14 PT
By Natalie Newman, KY3 News
Source: MSNBC
Federal funding for the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program ran out a year ago and keeping it, as county commissioners did this year, costs Greene County around $100,000 a year. Commissioners are considering not funding it in 2000. 
They say the county’s sales tax revenue is flat and the county budget is tight.      The Greene County sheriff’s department conducts the DARE program in schools outside of Springfield. It teaches 5th graders to make positive decisions, including how to say no to drugs. High school senior Jessica Bateman graduated from DARE six years ago. Tuesday, she was at a DARE program in Willard as a role model.   “It did help me a lot on choosing friends and how to say no,” Bateman said.   County commissioners say it’s not a matter of whether the program is effective. They say the problem is lack of money.   “It’s a matter of dollar and cents,” said Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod. “This is a community that doesn’t want more taxes.   “They aren’t saying, ‘Raise taxes because we like DARE.’”   Sheriff John Pierpont says cutting the program would be a big mistake.   “The DARE program is a program I think we can’t afford not to fund,” he said. “We’re touching not only kids who take DARE but we’re touching their families and kids who didn’t.”   Pierpont says it can even save taxpayers some money.   “If we keep people off of drugs, we’re going to lower what the county pays for holding in the county jail,” he said. “If we at least touch a few kids, then it’s worthwhile because if we save just those kids, I think a life saved is more than a life lost.”   Nearly 900 children graduate from the Greene County DARE program each year. Commissioners and sheriff’s department leaders are meeting at 1:30 Wednesday at the commission offices to discuss funding options. One option is to have the schools help foot the bill.   Nationally, the DARE program has come under a lot of scrutiny over whether it has a long-term effect on children and teenagers. Coonrod says he’d like to see an unbiased study on the effectiveness of the program but he says it really does come down to money. Web Posted: December 7, 1999http://www.ky3.com/http://www.msnbc.com/
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 01, 2001 at 07:53:22 PT:
DARE to Live out its Lifespan
Lisa, the best info on DARE and its ineffectiveness can be found at the Lindesmith Center, especially Marsha Rosenbaum's superb pamphlet, which you can order or download in PDF:http://www.lindesmith.org/library/safetyfirst.html
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Comment #3 posted by lisa moison on February 01, 2001 at 07:27:59 PT:
DARE program elimination Fitchburg,MA
Our community is going through a similar situation. The DARE program was eliminated from our schools this year due to a budget crisis. The DARE advisory council is working night and day to rectify this, however the Mayor and Police Chief have been less than helpful. Any adive would be appreciated.
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Comment #2 posted by observer on December 08, 1999 at 09:49:38 PT
more DARE info
``Fact: D.A.R.E. founder Daryl Gates once advised the U.S. Senate about the 'casual user' and what you do with the whole group. "The casual user ought to be taken out and shot, because he or she has no reason for using drugs." Gates later emphasized that he was "not being facetious"and declared marijuana users to be guilty of treason.''-- http://www.pdxnorml.org/dare_index.html
D.A.R.E. Resources
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Comment #1 posted by Mari on December 07, 1999 at 20:42:54 PT
Dare in Greene Co.
So Sheriff Pierpont thinks we need to keep this program to save kids,huh?? I have lived in Greene Co. for nearly 30yrs. This man has run a police dept. rife with corruption, especially the drug squad. I personally know officers who have tried to uncover the scams run here but the "good old boy" network is alive and well in the Ozarks!!There are narcotics officers who busted people by day and sold pot at night.The level of brutality to minorities and poor people is high. I was told by a cop here {after he retired} that the bad cops run the good cops off.We don't need DARE..we need honest cops!!!!
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