Q: I'm looking for an alternative drug education program for my children's public school (not the usual D.A.R.E.). Your Safety First program looks very appropriate.

A: The motto of Safety First is "Just Say Know" rather than "Just Say No!" Nancy Reagan initially promoted the latter, but it has been long abandoned as a mere slogan that failed to address the need for real education about drugs.

Safety First does not distribute any specific program or curriculum. Rather, we promote understanding of what effective drug education should look like. In brief, it must be education in the true sense of the word. This means providing honest and complete information rather than one-sided indoctrination (which eventually backfires for many youth), respecting young people and their experience, and involving them in the learning process in meaningful ways. It also means finding ways to support and assist for the minority of youthful users who get into trouble because of their abuse of drugs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA) publishes a manual describing a variety of newer drug prevention programs that have been evaluated scientifically. You can obtain the latest version of Science-Based Prevention Programs and Principles by checking www.samhsa.gov. However, you should be careful, because the quality of research confirming the effectiveness of some of these programs has been strongly questioned in the research literature. Also, the programs are mainly for younger children, and evidence for the persistence of positive effects into the late teen years is not available. We suggest looking into UpFront: A Reality-Based Drug Education & Support Program for High Schools. Contact Chuck Ries at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (510) 823-3715 for more information.

Q: Isn't D.A.R.E. a valuable tool for teaching kids to avoid drugs?

A: Over the twenty years since DARE was introduced, critical evaluations have shown that it is not enough to teach teens to "just say no." Instead, it is important that we teach teens to "just say know."

Shortly after DARE's 20th birthday, on April 12, 2003, “Drug Education Should Dare to Be Different,” by Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum was published by the Los Angeles Times. This opinion piece provides suggestions for improving existing drug education programs.