Many children and also adults are faced with choices like these every day. Illegal and also legal substances are everywhere you look. The hardest thing is trying to avoid them. Everyone learns when they are young to "Just Say No," but not everyone remembers that in a pressured situation that could change their life forever.

As early as 500b.c. civilizations in Greece and Rome drunk alcohol. Still now in1998, alcohol is "Americas Most Abused Drug"(Ball 43). Even though alcohol is a legal drug, it can kill.

Some drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and aspirin are legal in today's modern society, but they are still abused. Many people die each year from smoking. There are many complications that come along with smoking, it causes: cancers, bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, blood clots and can form tar on the smokers' lungs.

Alcoholism among young people is still increasing. This is very true; young people are not permitted to legally drink al

Many things have been done in the past to try to get rid of the usage of illegal drugs. In the1980's law makers of the United States tried to stop drug abuse and the violence that is associated with it. They did this by creating the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP). Also in 1988 the National Drug Abuse policy was established. It is to over see the other drug related department in our government.

The longer that a person is hooked on a drug the longer and more drawled out of the withdrawal period. During this, the user could also become very violent.

Some people ask, "What is D.A.R.E. teaching our children?" Well, the D.A.R.E. officers saw a problem and are treating it best to their ability. They give the students workbooks and encourage them not to take drugs from anyone. They also tell the kids the consequences of their choices. Everything is there own choice and responsibility. Hopefully they will make the right choice.

Marks, Dan. Personal interview. 16 December 1998.

There have been many surveys about the effectiveness of D.A.R.E.. 98% of the students surveyed believed that the program was very effective. In another survey, 88.3% students responded that they would know how to respond if someone was to offer them drugs. 100% of the teachers believe that the program is very positive and helps the kids be more comfortable around policemen.

"Section two: a different look at D.A.R.E." A Different Look at D.A.R.E., ONLINE. Internet. 3 November 1998. Available: http://arcnet.org/dare/section2.

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Approximate Word count = 2159
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)