Gov. Chris Christie: War on drugs is ‘a failure’
Gov. Christie has a harsh view on the 40-year-old war on drugs: It doesn’t work.
“The war on drugs, while well-intentioned, has been a failure,” the Republican governor said Monday during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, according to a report by the Huffington Post.
“We’re warehousing addicted people every day in state prisons in New Jersey, giving them no treatment.”
Christie’s comments come after New Jersey lawmakers passed legislation recently that institutes a year of mandatory treatment for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders in lieu of jail time. The program is set to be activated in at least three counties during its first year and will expand across the state over the next five years. (The Star-Ledger)
https://www.nj.com/news/index.
How about dismantaling D.A.R.E. – a well intentioned feel good program that is BAD for children.
It is at best ineffectual and at worst counterporductive.
It introduces children to drugs to help them understnad thier negative effects and to teach them ways to avoid them, but IN FACT it just INTRODUCES these drugs to a young impressionable audience years before they would come incontact with them (including some drugs that some children would have otherwise NEVER come in contact with) and peaks their interest and curiosity and encourages some children to try these drugs.
SEE HERE FOR OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS: https://alcoholfacts.org/DARE.html
“The estimated cost of DARE annually is already $1 to 1.3 billion. 46 That’s a lot for a completely ineffective, often counterproductive, program.”
“The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is used in nearly 80% of the school districts in the United States, in 54 other countries around the world, and is taught to 36,000,000 students each year. Therefore, it’s important to know if this highly popular program is effective in reducing alcohol and drug use.”
“The Effectiveness of DARE
Scientific evaluation studies have consistently shown that DARE is ineffective in reducing the use of alcohol and drugs and is sometimes even counterproductive — worse than doing nothing. That’s the conclusion of the U.S. General Accounting Office, 1 the U.S. Surgeon General, 2 the National Academy of Sciences, 3 and the U.S. Department of Education, 4 among many others.5 ”
“”In 1986, a National Institute of Justice study suggested that DARE had some promise. The timing was perfect. First Lady Nancy Reagan was admonishing kids to ‘Just Say No.’ And Congress soon approved a large package of drug prevention money, earmarking 10 percent to go to programs taught by uniformed cops. Along with other criteria, the set-aside perfectly matched DARE, launching the program nationally.” 22″
“However, a peer review of the study soon identified major problems. In reality, the results suggested that DARE might actually increase drug use among girls. 23 The U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance then funded a follow-up study by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), a nationally prestigious research organization that had never had a study go unpublished. Before the study was completed, RTI “started finding that DARE simply didn’t work,” and released preliminary findings at a conference. 24 ”
“DARE has made about a dozen revisions to its program. Each time another study reports that the program is ineffective, DARE responds by saying that the results apply to “the old program.” Each revision has proven to be just as ineffective as the one it follows, but it’s a very effective tactic to distract and confuse the public.”
MOST IMPORTANTLY (aside from the $$Billion++ cost:
“It’s a mistake to assume that you can simply design a program and know in advance whether it will be harmful,” says Dr. Joan McCord, a leading expert on evaluating programs. “I think of those who created thalidomide. They had good intentions, and look what happened. The harm comes from the failure of programs and programs must be evaluated for safety.” 43 “