Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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• Teach that alcohol, <strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drug use is not as pervasiveas it seems, even if students believe “everyone is doing it;”• Provide developmentally-appropriate material and activities, includinginformation about <strong>the</strong> short-term effects and long-term consequencesof using alcohol, <strong>to</strong>bacco and o<strong>the</strong>r drugs;• Use interactive teaching techniques, such as role playing, discussions,“brains<strong>to</strong>rming” and cooperative learning;• Actively involve <strong>the</strong> family and community; and• Include instruc<strong>to</strong>r training and support, and provide material that is easy<strong>to</strong> implement and culturally relevant for students.<strong>It</strong> is important <strong>to</strong> note that all of <strong>the</strong> above features are essential for an effective drugeducation program, particularly <strong>the</strong> necessary training and commitment of instruc<strong>to</strong>rs and<strong>the</strong> active involvement of <strong>the</strong> family and community. Research has shown time and againthat partial or selective implementation of <strong>the</strong> elements of a drug education program willrender it ineffective. 93Although some school-based programs seem <strong>to</strong> have modest effects in preventing orreducing substance use among youth, recent research has shown that certain models aremore appropriate with certain age groups than with o<strong>the</strong>rs, and that certain models are moreeffective with regard <strong>to</strong> certain drugs. Applying <strong>the</strong> same intervention <strong>to</strong> different agegroups could result in different outcomes; for example, teaching middle school students <strong>to</strong>conform <strong>to</strong> social norms might result in a reduction in alcohol use, whereas teaching highschool students <strong>to</strong> conform <strong>to</strong> social norms might result in an increase in alcohol use (wheredrinking <strong>to</strong> get drunk is normative behavior at that age). These findings indicate <strong>the</strong> needfor a more sophisticated understanding of <strong>the</strong> different stages of development of each gradelevel and <strong>the</strong> varying degrees <strong>to</strong> which students at different ages will be receptive <strong>to</strong>different approaches.Measuring Use or Abuse?Reviews of <strong>the</strong> major, school-based drug education programs have revealed <strong>the</strong>irlimited effectiveness in reducing drug use, particularly over <strong>the</strong> long term. 94 Preventionprograms’ seemingly marginal effectiveness can be explained largely by <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>outcome measure is drug use ra<strong>the</strong>r than drug abuse. Conflating drug use with drug abuse,as discussed above, can lead <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> assumption that all drug use is harmful, and also deflectsattention away from <strong>the</strong> proven hazards of alcohol and <strong>to</strong>bacco. If <strong>the</strong> outcome measure ofprevention programs were substance abuse, or more appropriately, <strong>the</strong> harm caused byexcessive substance use, <strong>the</strong> programs referred <strong>to</strong> above would be deemed very successful,as only a very small number of youth experience serious problem behaviors. 9539
Universal prevention programs generally fail <strong>to</strong> target <strong>the</strong> small number of youthwho account for most of <strong>the</strong> alcohol and o<strong>the</strong>r drug abuse. Resources are now devoted <strong>to</strong>reducing <strong>the</strong> prevalence of use among <strong>the</strong> vast majority of youth who will never developsubstance abuse problems, and inadequate resources are devoted <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> small number ofyouth who presently have real problems. The “selective” and “indicated” programs, whichfocus on high-risk youth, appear <strong>to</strong> be a more cost-effective and efficacious strategy forpreventing substance abuse.Washing<strong>to</strong>n has exceptional resources available locally for <strong>the</strong> design andimplementation of substance abuse prevention programs. Appendix B of this reportprovides a brief review of programs developed at <strong>the</strong> University of Washing<strong>to</strong>n that target“high-risk” youth, including <strong>the</strong> Reconnecting Youth program, <strong>the</strong> Incredible Years programand <strong>the</strong> Seattle Social Development Project. These programs have begun <strong>to</strong> be replicatednationwide. The Task Force believes Washing<strong>to</strong>n should capitalize on <strong>the</strong>se resources inimproving its own statewide, youth-focused, substance abuse prevention plan.40
Page 7: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 10 and 11: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 12 and 13: IntroductionThe King County Bar Ass
Page 14: Conclusions and RecommendationsEFFE
Page 17 and 18: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)sym
Page 19 and 20: 11. Opiate-replacement the<
Page 21 and 22: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)17.
Page 23 and 24: Assessing the Effe
Page 25 and 26: Current Drug Policy Reforms• Citi
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Page 29 and 30: Formal research studies of adolesce
Page 31 and 32: methodological difficulties in esti
Page 33 and 34: Risk Factors and P
Page 35 and 36: Protective Factors
Page 37 and 38: 3. The Promise and Perils of Drug A
Page 39: Prevention strategies have been des
Page 43 and 44: The programs implemented under <str
Page 45 and 46: SECTION IIDRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT:
Page 47 and 48: 2. Society is justified in offering
Page 49 and 50: 4. Treatment is an effective respon
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Page 53 and 54: “11. Possible drug use during tre
Page 55 and 56: There are currently drug courts in
Page 57 and 58: “become almost illusory.” <stro
Page 59 and 60: ___________________________________
Page 61 and 62: levels” for some drug offenses 16
Page 63 and 64: treatment, drug testing and o<stron
Page 65 and 66: to the</st
Page 67 and 68: and especially considering
Page 69 and 70: Those with problems are heavily con
Page 71 and 72: Just as it is difficult to<
Page 73 and 74: The federal criminal justice system
Page 75 and 76: A core principle of Washing
Page 77 and 78: Rehabilitation is the</stro
Page 79 and 80: Damaging Collateral Effects of <str
Page 81 and 82: have been so overwhelmed with drug
Page 83 and 84: creates a conflict of interest that
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Page 87 and 88: convicted.” 351 Proposition 36 al
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is still supervised by the<
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emedies may be appropriate, and <st
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___________________________________
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have shown less promise, especially
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Unique Opportunities in Washing<str
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State of Washingto
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This program provides to</s
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way.”9 According to</stro
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Best states: “ They are basically
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4, pp. 590-593, who state that <str
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109 For a summary of the</s
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Profile report is available on line
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to anothe<
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program of drug treatment that begi
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237 No deaths have ever been record
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290 A special exception to<
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Following the pass
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Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol.
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Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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