Under the Influence by Preston Peet

Author:Preston Peet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

The D.A.R.E Generation vs. The H.E.A.

Abby Bair

In the early 1980s, President Reagan told the nation that a “War on Drugs” needed to be waged to “protect America's children.” Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, America witnessed the massive expansion of the so-called War on Drugs. Abstinence-based education programs like the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, commonly known as D.A.R.E., were implemented. Zero-tolerance drug policies on campus were initiated. Billions of dollars were spent, and new government agencies were created.

Today, drugs are cheaper, easier to get, and more dangerous than ever before. According to the Manhattan Institute, a New York-based conservative think tank, more than 40% of 12th-graders in urban and suburban schools have used illegal drugs. The children Reagan was trying to protect are now grown, and many have begun to mobilize against the War on Drugs. Alternative solutions to the current War on Drugs are urgently needed.

Insightful members of the DARE generation formed an organization called Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) to provide education on harms caused by the War on Drugs. SSDP's mission is to involve youth in the political process, and to promote an open, honest and rational discussion of alternative solutions to our nation's drug problems.

I joined SSDP and the drug policy reform movement after realizing that the so-called War on Drugs should instead be called smoke and mirrors. The first time I read the Drug Reform Coordination Network's Drug War Chronicle, I thought that it was an Onion knock-off. It was so hysterical! I read the publication with disbelief. To make sure that my entire belief system was still intact, I fact-checked and cross-referenced the Drug War Chronicle. Finally, I understood that political dogma perpetuated the multi-billion dollar war. The next morning, I phoned DRCNet (http://stopthedrugwar.org) and asked to intern in their office. After interning with DRCNet in Washington, D.C., I returned to Ohio University to co-found an SSDP chapter. I wanted to continue learning and proliferating the truth about the War on Drugs.

More than 200 high school, college, and graduate chapters nationwide now work to bring attention to the issues that affect youth and other underrepresented communities most. SSDP leaders range from high school students to Rhodes scholars to tier I law students. SSDP's primary focus is to repeal the Higher Education Act (HEA) “drug provision.”

The HEA drug provision blocks financial aid to students with drug convictions. More than 124,000 students have lost access to higher education since the law was enacted in 1998. The law applies to both current and past offenders. A student can get treatment in return for financial aid, but this is not an option for most students. There is usually a waiting-list for treatment, and it can cost up to $1000. If a student needs financial aid, then they probably cannot afford drug treatment.

The drug provision denies education to young people who have already been punished for their mistakes. Marisa Garcia was attending college in California when she paid a $400 fine after police found a pipe in her car.

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