Today, many kids in their adolescent years are finding themselves experimenting with tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Curiosity strikes, and some individuals just don’t know what they are getting themselves into. Peer pressure is also a major underlying cause of experimentation with these substances at an early age. There is no escaping from coming into contact with these substances, especially in a persons youth ages. They are everywhere and readily available, the only thing a parent or guardian can do about this problem is to educate their children. Some people recognized the importance and put a plan into action. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was founded in 1983 by the Los Angels Police Department, and has been taught in schools since. Through research and personal experience, I will explain the DARE program, evaluate the effectiveness, identify the pros and cons, reveal success stories, and failures.
The overall goal of these programs is to keep kids off of drugs, and make school zones drug free. It is also very important to prevent teens from doing drugs in the future. The National Education Goals Panel issued a report that indicated little progress has been made to make schools drug-free. The Goals Panel found that reported student use of illegal drugs has increased from twenty four percent in 1991 to forty percent in 1997 and that the sale of drugs on school property has risen from eighteen percent in 1991 to thirty three percent in 1997 (ESEA, Drug-free Schools) Over the last twelve years, slightly over six billion has been spent on the drug-free school initiative. Currently five hundred and sixty six million is being allocated to states and localities to support school and community based violence and drug preve...
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...tes that crime is seen as a choice that is influenced by its costs and benefits- that is, by its rationality. Crime will be more likely to be deterred if its costs are raised (e.g., more effort required, more punishment applied), especially if its costs and benefits of crime can be obtained by direct experiences with punishment and punishment avoidance, and indirectly by observing whether others who offend are punished or avoid punishment (Criminology. Understanding Theories). Rational choice theory states that the crime is pre determined, and these crimes are usually pleasure-seeking crimes. Drug and alcohol users get pleasure out of their use, or there would be no reason to do them, so this makes perfect sense. DARE students are given the information, and they are given the option to make their own decisions when they are presented to drugs and alcohol.
Clayton, RR, AM Cattarello, and BM Johnstone. "The Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (project Dare): 5-Year Follow-Up Results." Preventive Medicine. 25.3 (1996). Print.
The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus Pain, (5) Choice, with all other conditions equal, will be directed towards the maximization of individual pleasure, (6) Choice can be controlled through the perception and understanding of the potential pain or punishment that will follow an act judged to be in violation of the social good, the social contract, (7) The state is responsible for maintaining order and preserving the common good through a system of laws (this system is the embodiment of the social contract), (8) The Swiftness, Severity, and Certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law's ability to control human behavior. Classical theory, however, dominated thinking about deviance for only a short time. Positivist research on the external (social, psychological, and biological) "causes" of crime focused attention on the factors that... ... middle of paper ... ...
EXPLAIN: If you help cut, that number by at least a quarter, it will be a success. So, here I am to persuade you, to really take some time to think about how D.A.R.E. can help kids deal with drugs. Assume for a moment that D.A.R.E. can change youth lives with the program’s help. It can help reduce the number of kids smoking, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol.
administration as part of their enactment of the War on Drugs initiation. Several schools embraced the policy as a way of deterring drugs on their campuses. Although when the policy became a law when Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act of 1989 was passed by congress (Wattleton). For countless amount of years, hundreds of schools began to adopt the policy as part of their regulations when it came to the punishment of a student. The ...
More than a decade ago, the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program was criticized for not being an effective way to deal with rising illegal drug use among teens, but changes made to the program a number of years ago broadened its scope and its results.
The biggest question people ask is if the “war on drugs” was successful. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), “The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.” The best way to measure the effectiveness of the “war on drugs” is to focus on these basic questions; Is drug use down? Is crime down? and Are drugs less available? Since 1988, drug use by individuals ages 12 and over has remained stable according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The number of individuals reporting any drug use has increased by approximately 7 million and the number of those who reported drug use in previous months or previous years has remained unchanged. The Organization Monitoring the Future studies drug use, access to drugs, and perspectives towards drugs of junior and senior high school students nationwide. Results of a study conducted in 2005 showed a minor decline in substance abuse by older teens, but drug use among eighth graders stopped remained the same. However, the changes were not statistically significant and ultimately there was no reduction in substance abuse among young students. Crime in the United States has decreased significantly since 1993, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. On the other hand,
While many theories are explored, rational choice theory is the most commonly used in both criminology and law enforcement. The idea is that each individual is free to decide which activities or behaviors they engage in. It is believed the individual makes their decision based on rationally calculating which behaviors will potentially provide them with more pleasure versus pain. In simpler terms, the person mentally weighs the pros and cons of their behaviors before they act them out.
Drugs cause an overall disturbance in a subjects’ physiological, psychological and emotional health. “At the individual level, drug abuse creates health hazards for the user, affecting the educational and general development of youths in particular” (“Fresh Challenge”). In youth specifically, drug abuse can be triggered by factors such as: a parent’s abusive behavior, poor social skills, family history of alcoholism or substance abuse, the divorce of parents or guardians, poverty, the death of a loved one, or even because they are being bullied at school (“Drugs, brains, and behavior”) .
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.
Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender to commit a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors out-weigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision making process makes committing a crime a rational choice. This theory can be used to explain why an offender will decide to commit burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or murder.
The use of drugs and mind-alternating substances has been a part of society for decades. The ‘high’ that people attain from the use of such substances is very attractive and exciting however, the effects of this use are minimized. Particularly for youth, a group of individuals who are seeking independence and experimentation, drug use represents the balance between taking risks and taking responsibility for one’s actions. However, the developmental processes of adolescents are known to not encompass the maturity required to fully think through such decisions. As such, the use of a ‘smaller-scale’ drug like marijuana is even more minimized. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the risks of using marijuana are for youths, why they are the most affected, how this problem has progressed over the last three decades, and what preventative measures and treatment options are in place. It will also discuss what schools, parents, and government agencies could be doing to help improve the issue, and the impact that this issue is having on society.
At the inception of drug and substance abuse, adolescents take the habit for experimental purposes (O’Connor, 1997). In most cases, these experimentations are designed to make adolescents fit into different peers groups.
High school students are leaders to younger kids and many others in their community. As a leader these student must show others what good character is like, but instead they are destroying their lives by doing drugs. In the past decade the drug use among high school students is on the rise once again. With the internet, their exposure to drugs is much greater. High school students are convinced that they are able to get away with using drugs. These drug addicts soon influence other students into doing the drugs because there isn’t a rule preventing drug use. In order to protect these student’s future, drug tests must be enforced among all students ensuring a safe environment for students to learn successfully. Allowing random drug testing in high schools will shy away students from trying these harmful drugs. The stop of drug use among high school students is crucial because drugs prevents student from learning leading them to dropping out of high school. Students that become overwhelmed by these harmful drugs will ruin their lives forever, but if steered in the right direction they can be saved.
After interviewing my teenage cousin whom has been in several altercations at home and school, enlightened me on the ways that teenagers in her age group gets involved in drug use. Kids start as young as ten years of age using, selling, and experimenting with drugs. My teenage cousin was expelled from public schools when she started experimenting with drugs. She was surrounded by many challenges when she enrolled in the alternative behavioral school. Many students, whom attend the alternative behavioral school use drugs, sell drugs, are on probation, have been arrested, engage in sexual activity and drink alcohol.
Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience to support random and mandatory drug testing in schools and to encourage my audience to maintain a drug-free environment in school