Letter: Kids Deserve Honesty in Drug Talks
Stan White
February 12, 2009
Gloucester Daily Times (MA)
Donna Viau is mistakenly taking my letter out of context, insinuating (Letter: New 'pot' law shouldn't be taken to mean it's OK, Times, Jan. 29) that I wrote that kids should be allowed to use cannabis (marijuana) or drink alcohol. Youth should never be allowed to use those substances.
Viau's assertion that I think people try pot because they want to prove a DARE program wrong, missed what I wrote. Citizens may be thinking it's OK to try deadly hard drugs because DARE teaches they are no worse than cannabis; that's dangerous and irresponsible.
While citizens know many people try cannabis, it's important for them to realize cannabis is a relatively safe plant. Other drugs are not in the same category; other drugs are in fact a very serious different item.
Nearly every study, including government studies, indicates that DARE is not only a failure, but it may be contributing to more drug use than having no anti-drug program at all; lying to youth is part of why it fails. Having more citizens addicted to hard drugs is the result.
My letter was aimed at lowering deadly hard drug addiction rates, not rationalizing youth using cannabis. | 
