This isn’t your daddy’s DARE.
The acronym, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, lost some of its luster among policymakers over the past couple of decades after studies showed it didn’t significantly reduce student drug use. But the national program, an outgrowth of former first lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign of the 1980s, has been revamped, and a new curriculum called “keepin’ it REAL” was installed.
Whereas the old program featured primarily lectures from police officers on the dangers of drug use, the new one is much more expansive. It has been modernized to cover issues such as cyberbullying, vaping, internet safety and how to deal with stress. As a bonus, it can help build a better rapport between young people and police.
