Everyone remembers the program D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) from elementary school, right?
The program was founded in Los Angeles in 1983 and it is run by police departments. Its main purpose is to keep kids away from harmful drugs, gangs, and violence.
Not surprisingly, D.A.R.E. has been against the legalization of marijuana. However, it seems that a recent post on their website says otherwise.
An article posted on their website on July 27, 2015 was titled, “Purchasing marijuana puts kids at risk.” Sounds perfectly D.A.R.E. worthy, right? Nope. The article was written by a former deputy sheriff, Carlis McDerment, who explains in the article that “Children only are being put in more danger when marijuana is kept illegal.” So, quite literally, purchasing marijuana while it is illegal will put children at risk and the legalization of it will make everyone safer.
A study in June 2015 showed that in states that have passed medical marijuana laws, the legalization didn't increase teenage use of the drug. In fact, the study spotted a decrease in use among eighth-graders after the laws went into effect.
Also, the legalization and the taxes from sales could go towards public education. It could also reduce the incarceration rate. The legalization could also help children in chronic pain to ease the pain, thus decreasing the number of deaths by overdosing on prescription pain killers.
D.A.R.E. took down the article after posting it, realizing the mistake.
Daily Intelligencer reached out to D.A.R.E. for comment, and director Ronald J. Brogan responded:
“The article you wrote about was mistakenly posted on our website by a service we use. We have not changed our stance of being opposed to the legalization of marijuana.”
The organization that claims to keep kids safe and healthy, D.A.R.E might want to read the articles they post and the valuable information that can actually help children.