Public Health Commons^™

Investigating The Efficacy & Implications Of Abstinence-Based Drug Education, Sophia Hanken

University Honors Theses

The United States has a long and complex history surrounding substance use. Drug education programs have become widely implemented in American schools and the media. Policy, rhetoric, and ideology have directly affected the curriculum of drug education programs. Drug education in the United States centers around substance abstinence. While well-intended, abstinence-based drug education is not a pragmatic solution for reducing substance-related harm or promoting health. The purpose of this thesis is to critique two of the most widely used abstinence-based drug education programs; Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) and Project ALERT. These programs often emphasize the dangers of substance use …