D.A.R.E. to be knowledgable (16 Mar 2008)

Some of you with longer memories than the usual scandal-watching P. Hilton and B. Spears fans might remember something about heroin in Northfield? (Say it ain’t so, Joe, say it ain’t so). The city attempted to divert attention from this by throwing the mayor, the police chief, the city council and the city staff under the bus. But we weren’t distracted by all these bit’s o’ drama. Now, as the city considers bringing in a “popular” program (DARE) to deal with the drug problem, we will review how the program works, what it claims and (most important) what it delivers. We’ll ask “who pays for this” and if the answer is “other people” (e.g., the Feds) we’ll ask if we are getting their money’s worth. We’ll snoop out some resources to back our positions and we’ll bring it all together at next week’s Politics and a Pint at the Contented Cow.

References: (some starters)

• http://northfield.org/node/3369 (an early “somethin’s happin’ here” post)
• http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/3095/ (another blogosphere’s dialog)
• D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
• A skeptical site (Alcohol Abuse Prevention)
• Another more academic skeptical paper (Health Promotion International)
• An article in the NHS Periscope

Read, think and be prepared to be enlightened! Hope to see you at the Contented Cow this Sunday!

Legal details (in appropriately tiny font):

What: Politics and a Pint
Where: The Contented Cow
When: 6-7:30PM, 16 Mar 2008