Study Critical of Anti-Drug Program Called Flawed

By Laura Miller

An academic journal's decision to publish a portion of a federally financed study critical of the nation's most widely used school anti-drug-abuse program has angered officials of the program, who say that section of the study is flawed.

The excerpt appears in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. It concludes that Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, has little influence on adolescent drug use and that the program may be taking the place of more effective alternatives.

"DARE's limited influence on adolescent drug-use behavior contrasts with the program's popularity and prevalence," the portion...