cannabisnews.com: DARE Officers Put a Scare Into Parents 





DARE Officers Put a Scare Into Parents 
Posted by CN Staff on December 06, 2002 at 08:11:52 PT
By Eun Lee Koh, Globe Staff Correspondent
Source: Boston Globe 
From a cardboard box labeled ''School Show-and-Tell,'' Officer David Muri pulled out item after item, carefully sealed in plastic, to the low murmur of his adult audience sitting at the tables inside the Ashland High School library. One by one, he displayed what he and other police officers have confiscated in Ashland over the past few years in local parks and homes: a half-smoked joint of marijuana, dozens of ecstasy pills, a $20 bill that had been used to snort cocaine, several ounces of crack, cocaine, and heroin, and a small bottle of correction fluid commonly known as Wite Out. 
''Wite Out? I don't understand,'' one parent said. ''How do they even use it? What do you do? Do you just open it?'' Muri, a school resource officer who teaches Drug Abuse Resistance Education to fifth- and seventh-graders, usually works with a savvy younger audience, pupils who at one time or another have seen the images of drug use in movies and television. On this night, he was working with their parents. Muri opened the bottle and pretended to sniff the fumes from the Wite Out, demonstrating how children sniff ordinary household products to get high. Muri, along with another school resource officer, Joseph Magnani, and Officer Richard Briggs, who all teach DARE at the schools to pupils, are extending the lesson to parents in an effort to help them communicate with their children about drug abuse. At the same time, the officers wanted to show the parents what their children are exposed to every day. Drug use in Ashland among teenagers is relatively low, according to police, but statistics show that drug use in that age group is on the rise in Boston's western suburbs. The officers want more ammunition in the fight against drugs and decided to target the parents, Briggs said. The DARE program, which depends on the collaboration of school and police departments, has been available for youths in communities across the United States since 1983, but the program for parents is relatively new and scarce. Schools in about 10,000 towns and cities nationwide have DARE programs for children, but only about 400 have similar programs for parents, according to Glenn Levant, president of the Los Angeles-based DARE America. The old methods of detecting drug use aren't enough anymore, the officers said, as new drugs such as ecstasy gain popularity and youngsters find more inventive ways to hide symptoms of drug abuse. Seemingly harmless things like small pieces of tin foil, rags, plastic bags, straws, empty pen barrels, and aluminum cans can all be fashioned into drug paraphernalia. Eye drops, perfume, and baby pacifiers have all been used to hide or help disguise the symptoms of drug abuse. The officers have tailored the program so that parents understand how easy it can be for children to get marijuana if they want some. Teens could buy marijuana at $4 or $5 per joint or $40 for an eighth of an ounce, or they could get a tablet of ecstasy for about $25 to $40. A small amount of cocaine could cost as little as $15, according to the officers. ''Some of this is really alarming,'' said Mary Beth Melanson, whose children are 5 and 9. ''This means they can just go and buy this with their allowance money.'' At their first meeting last month, the officers distributed lyrics from songs by Kid Rock and Eminem, popular artists whose disks regularly play in teenagers' CD players. The lyrics, laced with profanities and violent imagery, shocked some parents, Muri said. ''They didn't realize they were the ones giving their children the money and supplying them this information,'' he said. ''The point wasn't to say that kids should not be listening to this type of music, but that parents should really pay attention to what their kids are exposed to.'' Parents were also given homework: Watch MTV and Comedy Central, watch music videos and shows like ''The Osbournes,'' ''The Real World'' and ''South Park.'' The remaining two sessions will take place on Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, and the officers said they hope to have another program for parents in the spring. ''They see and hear all of this every day, and I wanted to have a clue about what is going on out there,'' said Maureen Kynoch, whose children are 10 and 12. ''It's different from when I was a kid. I just wanted to be a few steps ahead, or at least at their level.'' This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 12/6/2002. Note: Program invites them to see slice of high school.Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Eun Lee Koh, Globe Staff CorrespondentPublished: December 6, 2002Copyright: 2002 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/CannabisNews DARE Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/DARE.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by druid on December 10, 2002 at 09:30:09 PT:
an excellent alternative to DARE
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safe with drugs? I understand how you can be safer with alcohol, 
designated driver, etc. How can you be safe with other dangerous drugs?
2. I hear that today’s marijuana is far more potent than the stuff I 
tried 25 years ago. I am concerned for the safety of my 18-year old, 
and don’t know what to think.
3. Isn't D.A.R.E. a valuable tool for teaching kids to avoid drugs?
4. Is drug testing a productive way to keep my kids off drugs?Do you have questions about teens and drug use? Submit your question to 
info safety1st.org and it may be answered in the next installment of 
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Comment #10 posted by elfman_420 on December 07, 2002 at 03:54:12 PT
south park
 Parents were also given homework: Watch MTV and Comedy Central, watch music videos and shows like ''The Osbournes,'' ''The Real World'' and ''South Park.'' I was just reading the comments about last weeks episode of south park in another Cnews message board so I had to download it. It was very excellent, and I'll bet the reason south park is on that list is so parents watch the other episodes, some of which contain the most disturbing content you will ever deal with.. Then, they certainly won't let there kids wactch any more, that way they won't ever happen to catch episodes like last week's that tell kids the truth.For those of you who don't have access to south park, but want to know what happened, I have a short synopsis:The show is about four friends in fourth grade. There is a new program out that parents can buy where they send an actor scripted with details of the family to their residence and persuade the child that they are their "future self". A couple of the boys' parents get this program, and the future selves are guys in their early 30s who had been strung out on drugs and are now bums, all thanks to that first marijuana cigarette. One of the boys figures out that his future self is a fake, and tries to get his parents to admit that they lied to him."Son: I've just been trying to get you guys to admit you lied to me.
Father: Oh, well, Son, we just wanted you to realize how dangerous drugs like pot are.
Son: I've been told a lot of things about marijuana and I've come to find out that a lot of those things aren't true."So, the parents finally come to realize that the ends don't justify the means, and the best thing to do is be straight forward with their kids.A lot of people don't want kids watching that episode because it is telling them that they have been lied to all of these years.
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Comment #9 posted by Rainbow on December 06, 2002 at 19:28:39 PT
Education
Yes the DARE officers are teaching our children that White -OUT is a sniffable drug. They are obligated to teach about the bad drugs and I am sure that white out is one they teach about.So what does all this great education do? it teaches the kids what to use to get a high. it also teaches them that they do not have to use "safe" street drugs they can use the legal dangerous kinds like aresols and white out.ignorant buffon these police are. white out is part of my daughters school kit.
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on December 06, 2002 at 16:23:47 PT
I can see how they can dupe the kiddies
but if these "adults" can't smell the BS then their kids have a lot more than drugs to worry about.I can hear it now: "Man, my parents are morons."Will they start arresting adult users of Wite-out to protect the poor kids? Will they have to put EVERYTHING behind the counter and every adult in prison just to save the kids?"Man, my gov't is run by morons."
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Comment #7 posted by VitaminT on December 06, 2002 at 16:10:49 PT
p4me you ARE one of the leaders
of the reform movement and I'm with you starting today. Let 'em see 4:20 everywhere! Also I'm going to the Art supply store and order a stamp and a pad of green ink. The stamp might be as simple as a cartoon balloon that says "I grew hemp" put that next to George W, (Washington that is) or Thomas Jefferson. Maybe the fiver will get Lincoln's wonderful quote about the pleasure of sitting on the porch smoking a pipe packed with Sweet Hemp!
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on December 06, 2002 at 14:10:15 PT:
Scare = Fear: Just the Facts, Ma'am.
US WA: Column: Drug Policy Needs More Pragmatism and Less Hysteria
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2210/a03.htmlego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on December 06, 2002 at 12:09:51 PT
p4me.....
Sounds like a good idea but we're talking about Americans here. Most of us can't even make to the voting booth once a year on election day. I doubt many are willing to make any sort of personal sacrifice whatsoever. 
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Comment #4 posted by p4me on December 06, 2002 at 11:05:24 PT
An idea
I won't argue that children should not be using/abusing substances. That does not change the fact that marijuna should be legal for adults. The word drugs is almost so broad as to be irrelevant in any discussion of subtance abuse.But I want to present another idea that I think we can really get going.I don't know how many people would know of the dollar bill slogan campaign where people could write their cannabis slogans on the currency that passes through their hands. Well that is one method thing that anyone could do to show resistance to the wicked cannabis laws.I was glad to read an author present the idea that the only way to stop the erosion of our rights under Republican fascism is an economic boycott. I have talked about a one day boycott before where people would not buy anything on one given day a week and just recently there was an article about a community calling for just a one day boycott. I will say that even if a local community or even one state would take on the idea of a one day a week boycott and stick to it, it would be a very big deal.But today I had a new idea. We have the oil companies running the show with the drug companies sharing the stage. The idea is simple. When you buy gas just buy $4.20 every time. One thing about it you will visit more places than filling up and it would not take long before everyone in a community noticed. Even the credit card companies would notice and the banks would notice. If a person spends $21 a week on gas that is five $4.20 messages a week at 5 different places by one person in a week.Cannabis prohibition is all about preserving the financial interest of those that benefit by it at the expense of the general public. Until the cannabis community at least signals we know it is an economic war against the American people things will not change. I did my $4.20 deed today. Can't the leaders of the reform movement even present the idea to people that support reform? If MPP would just call for $4.20 purchases it would make Walter's know we are uniting with an economic understanding. Well, there it is. You do not need any ones permission to start and you do not have to explain it to anyone. Everyone will soon figure it out. I think this a big idea and I hope you at least spread the idea to other websites and let those that might join in become aware of the idea. I am in on the idea. And you?1
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Comment #3 posted by kanabys on December 06, 2002 at 10:00:28 PT
Before long.....
EVERYTHING will be considered drug paraphernalia.
I can't wait until all this manufactured hysteria blows up on the establishment and comes crashing down around them.
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 06, 2002 at 09:59:54 PT
South Park
I wonder if they watched the current episode of South Park in this DARE class - or the classic "drugs are bad" one.
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on December 06, 2002 at 08:30:51 PT
at what point are the police trained in parenting?
Don't listen to those silly psychologists and nurses that have been studying children and adolescents for 8 years before they begin practicing! Bring in some high-school educated police to teach parenting skills! Great idea!After all, apprehending mailbox-bashers and beer-drinking teen perpetrators hiding in the woods is a great way to learn effective parenting skills.Where do they find the gullible parents that come out for this crap? All the people that I knew in high school that became cops were the ones who weren't smart enough to go to college, and they became cops to get back at all those brainy little rich brats. And that's what they do for the next 40 years of their lives. Not all, of course, but most fit this profile.
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