Reefer madness!
The folks at D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) fell for a fake news story about a shocking number of deaths and pregnancies from the devil weed. They then
republished it at their own website:
After I called to inquire about it, D.A.R.E. removed the story immediately without commenting. But it's been preserved at the Internet Archive, and I've screenshotted it in full below. "It is sad that in a country as developed as America, such third world drugs such as marijuana are allowed to exist," the story's anonymous author wrote. "Children are being addicted to marijuana. I knew this day would come, when a liberal president allowed a state to legally sell Marijuana Flintstone Vitamins to children."
"Marijuana. It is one of the most dangerous drugs on Earth," the author concludes ominously. "For every one joint of marijuana, four teenagers become burdened with pregnancy."
Seriously....who's the dope here? And for what it's worth, a 10-year study of D.A.R.E showed that it makes
little to no difference:
According to the study, after the 10-year period no measurable effects were noted. The researchers compared levels of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana and the use of illegal substances before the DARE program (when the students were in sixth grade) with the post-DARE levels (when they were 20 years old).
Although there were some measured effects shortly after the program on the attitudes of the students toward drug use, these effects did not seem to carry on long-term.
The only thing D.A.R.E. seems effective at nowadays is
tearing families apart.