TX invades an island ...

[Averageman]

Some of what I was taught in DARE was untrue, and parroted propaganda. I don’t know if it was intrinsic to the program, or just my experience with the program, but that’d explain why it isn’t all that successful.

Correct. If a 14 year old can trouble shoot you, you're in the wrong line of business.

[1168]

Correct. If a 14 year old can trouble shoot you, you're in the wrong line of business.

Having the school nurse hand you amphetamines to enhance your performance right after DARE class probably didn’t help some people, either. Helped me, though. I learned that I hate amphetamines.

[SteyrAUG]

Funny how battling drugs used to be viewed as worth the cost. Now people are programmed to say fighting drugs entering the country and ruining American lives is a waste of money, while sending Billions to Ukraine is necessary.

I'm old enough to remember the DARE programs my kids participated in as well as the advertisements "This is your Brain on Drugs." - I'm fairly certain Fentanyl will eventually be proven a benefit to society.

#Manipulation

I used to be a martial arts instructor at the Hollywood, FL PAL and worked with a lot of "at risk" kids. It really did start to feel like trying to shovel water back into the ocean. We had something like a 5% success rate but I guess I helped those 5% get something better from their lives.

But the one who was dramatically changed was me, I can't even socialize with regular drug users. People can do what they want in their living room, but I don't want anything to do with them.

I am begning to look at Fentanyl as "Darwin's Little Gift" to us all.
The message is clear, eventually this will kill you, like eating rat poison or drinking antifreeze, it's the end of the road, see ya!

Somewhat agree, but there is a lot of collateral damage. Kids who are too young to figure out algebra don't stand a chance if some shitbag introduces that shit and I've seen it more times than I care to think about. The legit cases of people who got prescribed some form of "safe opiate" after a car accident or similar only to have it removed from the market and their prescribed dosage created a dependence. I remember the days of doctors and their miracle drug "oxy" which was completely safe. Back of my mind I knew there was no such thing, but I guess a hard candy shell is all it took for the FDA stamp of approval.

And for some reason the people who are simply chasing highs have an incredible survival rate.

[SteyrAUG]

Some of what I was taught in DARE was untrue, and parroted propaganda. I don’t know if it was intrinsic to the program, or just my experience with the program, but that’d explain why it isn’t all that successful.

What parts? Just curious, I was never a DARE instructor but they had a large presence at every PAL.

[Pacific5th]

I don’t remember much about DARE except the T-shirt and wondering why I wasn’t offered more booze and drugs in high school. I also know it absolutely didn’t work. Well maybe the drunk driving part if they had that but otherwise almost all of us that came of age in 90’s and early 2000’s did some kind of booze or pot long before we were allowed too. I guess many of us were smarter to stay away from the hard stuff but I don’t know how much DARE played in that.

[HKGuns]

People can do what they want in their living room, but I don't want anything to do with them.

Good to hear from someone with actual experience on this front. I had zero clue the success rate was so low. In my mind, that more or less emphasizes the need to at least try to keep as much of it out of the Country as we can. I can imagine it would change you.....and not for the better.

Generally, I don't care what you do in your house either, but far too often the drug thing results in the dwindling, responsible members of society footing the bills for their repeated mistakes or failures. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

[Diamondback]

Some of what I was taught in DARE was untrue, and parroted propaganda. I don’t know if it was intrinsic to the program, or just my experience with the program, but that’d explain why it isn’t all that successful.

The similar GREAT program on gangs even more so, especially its what I now know to be blatant bullshit about the "super deadly .22LR zipping around along bones cutting every blood vessel it encounters as it runs rings around your ribcage."

[jsbhike]

Good to hear from someone with actual experience on this front. I had zero clue the success rate was so low. In my mind, that more or less emphasizes the need to at least try to keep as much of it out of the Country as we can. I can imagine it would change you.....and not for the better.

Generally, I don't care what you do in your house either, but far too often the drug thing results in the dwindling, responsible members of society footing the bills for their repeated mistakes or failures. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

What group(s) force the "dwindling responsible members of society" to foot the bills? Be a real good idea to get those groups under control.

[HKGuns]

What group(s) force the "dwindling responsible members of society" to foot the bills? Be a real good idea to get those groups under control.

Agreed. Unfortunately, that is impossible. We have clear evidence of that, even today.

[SteyrAUG]

Good to hear from someone with actual experience on this front. I had zero clue the success rate was so low. In my mind, that more or less emphasizes the need to at least try to keep as much of it out of the Country as we can. I can imagine it would change you.....and not for the better.

Generally, I don't care what you do in your house either, but far too often the drug thing results in the dwindling, responsible members of society footing the bills for their repeated mistakes or failures. Quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

Keep in mind that success rate was for "at risk" kids who were already living in an area of Florida with a serious drug / gang activity problem. Our various programs, with a martial arts component such as Kidsafe, which were directed towards typical suburban kids were far more successful, but those kids really weren't at risk very much anyway.

Generally, if you want to protect your kids from this shit, two things work.

1. Know who they hang out with and don't let them hang out with losers. Your kids will piss and moan all day, claim you only let them hang out with nerds and are ruining their life but the truth is if they socialize with drug users they will probably become drug users. If they socialize with kids who care about good grades, their grades will probably improve. If they socialize with kids who are into baseball, they will probably get into baseball. You should not only know their friends, you should know their families. You should know a LOT about the people your kid spends most of their time with.

2. Keep your kids involved in something. I know we all used to be out the door and on our own, and thankfully on my own I didn't fall in with a terrible crowd and got involved in martial arts. I was lucky. Help your kids find activities / sports that they enjoy and have some competency. Don't force them to do the stuff you liked as a kid, you can introduce them to it, but if they are really bad at it, let them find something else. A kid who is being forced to take piano lessons is as likely to screw around with drugs as any other kid who hates what he's being forced to do. If they find something they are good at, or will get good at, it reinforces self reliance and they are more likely to make good decisions for themselves rather than go along with what others do.