Drug Use And Illegal Drugs - 1025 Words

Every year, 200 million individuals around the globe use illegal drugs. Individuals that use these illegal drugs make up around a â€Å"quarter of a million deaths per year.† (livescience.com) These individuals who are participating in drug use are not just adults however. They are also teenagers that walk the streets around us all day. According to teens.drugabuse.gov, â€Å"in 2006, 8% of youth in the United States between the ages of 12 17 met diagnostic criteria for abuse or dependence on illicit drugs.† This means that â€Å"more that 2 million† teens are hooked on drugs and could be the next victims of death. (teens.drugabuse.gov) However, if we compare the present to the past, it has been noted that â€Å"teens are taking better care of themselves†¦show more content†¦The D.A.R.E. program was found in 1983 by the â€Å"Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Unified School District,† â€Å"a time when widespread drug use was devast ating neighborhoods and overwhelming police departments,† and has grown immensely since its birth. (â€Å"A Summary and Synthesis of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"New D.A.R.E. Program Gets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) According to â€Å"New D.A.R.E. Program Gets†¦,† the program grew to 25 million students in 300,000 U.S. schools in all 50 states attended D.A.R.E. classes taught by 33,000 police officers†¦by 1998.† This program has grown so much that it is now a part of â€Å"75 percents of our nation’s school districts and†¦more than 52 countries around the world.† (dare.org) This program costs around â€Å"$1 to 1.3 billion†¦annually.† (alcoholfacts.org) The original curriculum for the D.A.R.E. program includes lessons about â€Å"the effects of drug misuse, resistance techniques, building self esteem, managing stress, media influences, decision making, support systems, gang pressures, and taking a stand.† (crimesolutions.gov) The class was comprised of 10 weeks of classes, one week for each lesson. (â€Å"New D.A.R.E. Program Gets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) â€Å"A 1987 report by the National Institutes of Justice indicated that D.A.R.E. improved children s knowledge, attitudes and self-reported drug use.† (â€Å"New D.A.R.E. Program Gets†¦) However, the evidence was â€Å"reviewed †¦and found that after taking D.A.R.E. classes, children had improved