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DARE to Say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools
With a signature "DARE to keep kids off drugs" slogan and iconic t-shirts, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) was the most popular drug education program of the 1980s and 1990s. But behind the cultural phenomenon is the story of how DARE and other antidrug education programs brought the War on Drugs into schools and ensured that the velvet glove of antidrug education would be backed by the iron fist of rigorous policing and harsh sentencing.
Max Felker-Kantor has assembled the first history of DARE, which began in Los Angeles in 1983 as a joint venture between the police department and the unified school district. By the mid-1990s, it was taught in 75 percent of school districts across the United States. DARE received near-universal praise from parents, educators, police officers, and politicians and left an indelible stamp on many millennial memories. But the program had more nefarious ends, and Felker-Kantor complicates simplistic narratives of the War on Drugs and shows how policing entered US schools and framed drug use as the result of personal responsibility, moral failure, and poor behavior deserving of punishment rather than something deeply rooted in state retrenchment, the abandonment of social service provisions, and structures of social and economic inequality.
Max Felker-Kantor has assembled the first history of DARE, which began in Los Angeles in 1983 as a joint venture between the police department and the unified school district. By the mid-1990s, it was taught in 75 percent of school districts across the United States. DARE received near-universal praise from parents, educators, police officers, and politicians and left an indelible stamp on many millennial memories. But the program had more nefarious ends, and Felker-Kantor complicates simplistic narratives of the War on Drugs and shows how policing entered US schools and framed drug use as the result of personal responsibility, moral failure, and poor behavior deserving of punishment rather than something deeply rooted in state retrenchment, the abandonment of social service provisions, and structures of social and economic inequality.
288 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 6, 2024
What a massive thank you to the author for writing a neccesary historical account of the D.A.R.E. program of the United States. While an almost nostalgic, highly parodied topic for kids that grew up with it today, D.A.R.E. was once an all-encompassing educational curriculum, a politically prized-talking point for Repulbican (and some Democrats alike), a marketing success, and a blue-line PR ploy. The author does a really good job of seperating himself from the history, while still leaving room for his opinions and viewpoints in a seperate space.
I read through the book consistently highlighting the hypocrisies of the program's message and goals along with what its effectiveness and action looked like. The D.A.R.E. program ws straightforward about its hope to keep kids off drugs, but research points to highly ineffective results. The program pivoted and began to address gangs and family values and community breakdown, yet handled it with police presence (which African-American and LatinX communities were already dealing with an overabundance of) instead of providing funding (and believe me - they had PLENTY of funding) for social services that these communities desperately needed and were asking for. D.A.R.E. was making so much of its funding off assets forfeiture and property seizure from drug busts, and yet spreading a message of 'Just Say No' - this was full of such mixed messaging - I am surprised it wasn't protested more harshly.
D.A.R.E. officials even mocked the researchers who were presenting pure findings and facts because it did not fit their narrative. What sent me in utter bewilderment was the amount of politicians and celebrities who vocally praised this program, after being made aware of its ineffectivity, because it looked so good and fit their political agenda (nuclear family units with 'strong morals', community growth, harsher consequences for drug offenders, police presence increased, decreased social program funding). Being an elementary aged child in the late 90's, I was not as aware of D.A.R.E. as my older peers, but I was utterly fascinated and simultaneously enraged by the hateful and inherently racist rhetoric of its backward messaging. The fact that this program still exists to this day?! Do better with our drug education/prevention funding, America.
This was written like a well-researched thesis, providing incredibly vital information to a history that hasn't been properly documented in an unbiased way in the past. The only thing that could make this this book better would be more relatable and a less academic writing style. This was written by a professor and it shows. While I believe many would be interested in this historical account, like I was, it was written in a way that does not feel like it is for the common reader.
Overall, I am very thankful I read this and that the author brought more of this information to the light of the everyday reader. I feel much more informed and I plan to take what I learned from this book and apply it to my everyday work as a counselor in a school and do greater research and investigation into the trust and legitamacy our school system gives to the programs we are running each year in schools to address societal concerns of children's well-being.
I read through the book consistently highlighting the hypocrisies of the program's message and goals along with what its effectiveness and action looked like. The D.A.R.E. program ws straightforward about its hope to keep kids off drugs, but research points to highly ineffective results. The program pivoted and began to address gangs and family values and community breakdown, yet handled it with police presence (which African-American and LatinX communities were already dealing with an overabundance of) instead of providing funding (and believe me - they had PLENTY of funding) for social services that these communities desperately needed and were asking for. D.A.R.E. was making so much of its funding off assets forfeiture and property seizure from drug busts, and yet spreading a message of 'Just Say No' - this was full of such mixed messaging - I am surprised it wasn't protested more harshly.
D.A.R.E. officials even mocked the researchers who were presenting pure findings and facts because it did not fit their narrative. What sent me in utter bewilderment was the amount of politicians and celebrities who vocally praised this program, after being made aware of its ineffectivity, because it looked so good and fit their political agenda (nuclear family units with 'strong morals', community growth, harsher consequences for drug offenders, police presence increased, decreased social program funding). Being an elementary aged child in the late 90's, I was not as aware of D.A.R.E. as my older peers, but I was utterly fascinated and simultaneously enraged by the hateful and inherently racist rhetoric of its backward messaging. The fact that this program still exists to this day?! Do better with our drug education/prevention funding, America.
This was written like a well-researched thesis, providing incredibly vital information to a history that hasn't been properly documented in an unbiased way in the past. The only thing that could make this this book better would be more relatable and a less academic writing style. This was written by a professor and it shows. While I believe many would be interested in this historical account, like I was, it was written in a way that does not feel like it is for the common reader.
Overall, I am very thankful I read this and that the author brought more of this information to the light of the everyday reader. I feel much more informed and I plan to take what I learned from this book and apply it to my everyday work as a counselor in a school and do greater research and investigation into the trust and legitamacy our school system gives to the programs we are running each year in schools to address societal concerns of children's well-being.
January 29, 2024
I've decided to join the war on drugs, on the side of the drugs. Kidding.
This is a complete history and rundown of the infamous DARE program. I think we all remember attending those classes and writing those essays. As I look back, I can't think of a single person it helped. My age group is stricken with addiction and I definitely remember kids wearing their DARE shirts as they did drugs but unfortunately, this book did not want to focus on parody or jokes like I do.
This is mostly about how DARE turned police into teachers, wasted a bunch of money and called it a W, while bolstering an already militarized police force. They normalized police in schools and attempted to turn them into friends and mentors, and perhaps most disturbingly described in detail in this book- teachers. I didn't even consider how problematic that was, particularly in communities where tensions were high between citizens and police. I didn't realize that they had children tattling on their own families. That was news to me and I hated to hear it. I guess that was part of the "community policing" aspect.
While I don't remember tattling or having a box to anonymously narc on people, I do remember them trying to scare us with a DARE Corvette they drove around in. If you do drugs, you'll lose your nice car to the government, kids! What a message.
It's interesting to read this through the eyes of an adult. It's crazy the things the government comes up with. This is a fair account of what went down, how and why. I didn't find it politically slanted.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to read and review.
This is a complete history and rundown of the infamous DARE program. I think we all remember attending those classes and writing those essays. As I look back, I can't think of a single person it helped. My age group is stricken with addiction and I definitely remember kids wearing their DARE shirts as they did drugs but unfortunately, this book did not want to focus on parody or jokes like I do.
This is mostly about how DARE turned police into teachers, wasted a bunch of money and called it a W, while bolstering an already militarized police force. They normalized police in schools and attempted to turn them into friends and mentors, and perhaps most disturbingly described in detail in this book- teachers. I didn't even consider how problematic that was, particularly in communities where tensions were high between citizens and police. I didn't realize that they had children tattling on their own families. That was news to me and I hated to hear it. I guess that was part of the "community policing" aspect.
While I don't remember tattling or having a box to anonymously narc on people, I do remember them trying to scare us with a DARE Corvette they drove around in. If you do drugs, you'll lose your nice car to the government, kids! What a message.
It's interesting to read this through the eyes of an adult. It's crazy the things the government comes up with. This is a fair account of what went down, how and why. I didn't find it politically slanted.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to read and review.
December 4, 2024
Very interesting
This book is at once a broad and detailed overview of the DARE program. It can be repetitive across chapters at times. It also has some arguments that are not as well supported. It left me wondering about the education side of things particularly in LA and what the influence of the school system was on the program. As the school district was mentioned many times in partnership with the police but then only the LAPD interactions were named in the supporting evidence.
This book is at once a broad and detailed overview of the DARE program. It can be repetitive across chapters at times. It also has some arguments that are not as well supported. It left me wondering about the education side of things particularly in LA and what the influence of the school system was on the program. As the school district was mentioned many times in partnership with the police but then only the LAPD interactions were named in the supporting evidence.
December 7, 2023
I would like to say that I enjoyed this book and that it gave an unbiased look at a program that I was fond of as a child and am fond of today as a parent. However, I can not. This author seems to have an axe to grind about this program and his writing of this book is VERY slanted about how bad this program is, was, and according to him, always will be. He does NOT like this program and I couldn't read much past the 1st chapter becuase of his HORRIBLE bias.
December 31, 2023
Well Documented History of DARE Marred By Undocumented Editorial Commentary. Coming in at over 30% documentation, this is one of the more well-documented books I've come across in my ARC reading over the years. However, the weakness here is that while Felker-Kantor cites nearly every word he says about the DARE program and those involved with it, he then proceeds to make quite a bit of left leaning social commentary that he then fails to document *at all*.
Which is sad, because this is a program that I too grew up in - the first uniformed cop whose name I remember is Deputy John Morgan of the Bartow County (Ga) Sheriff's Office, the DARE officer for much of the Bartow County School System (if not the *entire* school system, at first) in the early and mid 90s. Deputy Morgan became a local legend there in Cartersville and Bartow County, to the tune that he could well have challenged either his then boss or his newer boss when he retired a few years ago for the top job - all because of his work with the DARE program. I even actively went to church with the second Deputy to begin teaching DARE in the BCSS - Deputy Richey Harrell, who was very active with the youth of Atco Baptist Church when his own kids were small and who served on the Deacon Board of the church with my dad.
But despite knowing Richey in particular so well - though as his sons were closer in age to my brothers, they knew him and his family even better than I myself did - as an adult to say my views on policing have changed would be an understatement. Which is where I approached this book from - having been a former DARE student who now sees just how problematic the entire program was, from top to bottom, and indeed who even concurs with Felker-Kantor on just how problematic the program's insistence on using active duty police officers as front line teachers really is.
Not to mention agreeing with him on how truly ineffective it is. Not even just with a police officer teaching children he isn't connected to outside the school. Again here, I know people directly who went through these same DARE programs in the same system and also knew Richey as well as my family did - and who later fell so deep into drugs that they lost pretty well everything except their actual life, yes, including their kids.
Had Felker-Kantor at minimum documented his editorial comments such as about the disparate impacts of the war on drugs based on race - not hard to do - or other related commentary about mass incarceration (also not hard), the rise of the militarized police force (ditto), or any similar editorial comments, this would have been a slam dunk five star book, even with the left leaning commentary. It is that strong and that complete a history of the program, including discussions of its *continued existence* in a much diminished capacity - something I myself did not know until reading this book.
So read this book for a truly comprehensive history of something so many of us experienced first hand, particularly those of us who grew up in the 80s through early 2000s. And may we finally kick this particular program to the curb in favor of something that might actually work.
Recommended.
Which is sad, because this is a program that I too grew up in - the first uniformed cop whose name I remember is Deputy John Morgan of the Bartow County (Ga) Sheriff's Office, the DARE officer for much of the Bartow County School System (if not the *entire* school system, at first) in the early and mid 90s. Deputy Morgan became a local legend there in Cartersville and Bartow County, to the tune that he could well have challenged either his then boss or his newer boss when he retired a few years ago for the top job - all because of his work with the DARE program. I even actively went to church with the second Deputy to begin teaching DARE in the BCSS - Deputy Richey Harrell, who was very active with the youth of Atco Baptist Church when his own kids were small and who served on the Deacon Board of the church with my dad.
But despite knowing Richey in particular so well - though as his sons were closer in age to my brothers, they knew him and his family even better than I myself did - as an adult to say my views on policing have changed would be an understatement. Which is where I approached this book from - having been a former DARE student who now sees just how problematic the entire program was, from top to bottom, and indeed who even concurs with Felker-Kantor on just how problematic the program's insistence on using active duty police officers as front line teachers really is.
Not to mention agreeing with him on how truly ineffective it is. Not even just with a police officer teaching children he isn't connected to outside the school. Again here, I know people directly who went through these same DARE programs in the same system and also knew Richey as well as my family did - and who later fell so deep into drugs that they lost pretty well everything except their actual life, yes, including their kids.
Had Felker-Kantor at minimum documented his editorial comments such as about the disparate impacts of the war on drugs based on race - not hard to do - or other related commentary about mass incarceration (also not hard), the rise of the militarized police force (ditto), or any similar editorial comments, this would have been a slam dunk five star book, even with the left leaning commentary. It is that strong and that complete a history of the program, including discussions of its *continued existence* in a much diminished capacity - something I myself did not know until reading this book.
So read this book for a truly comprehensive history of something so many of us experienced first hand, particularly those of us who grew up in the 80s through early 2000s. And may we finally kick this particular program to the curb in favor of something that might actually work.
Recommended.
January 12, 2024
DARE to say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools by Max Felker-Kantor
Thank you to NetGalley and the University of North Carolina Press for providing a preview copy of this excellent and important book. Like many kids from the 80s and 90s, I too had experiences with the “Just Say No!” brand of drug deterrence. Along with the messages in popular school publications and on sitcoms, my school also participated in some kind of DARE program. I can’t remember if it was an actual DARE program since I don’t remember on going lessons. However, as other PA kids may remember, we were frequently visited by Trooper Ash (who showed up surprisingly in Alex Winter’s awesome Zappa documentary). However, all digressions aside, I bring this up because Max Felker-Kantor has written a book that importantly interrogates these kinds of programs in schools to ultimately conclude that their purpose was more about a PR program for police rather than any kind of drug deterrence. Much like Felker-Kantor’s conclusions about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of DARE, I too recall learning and becoming more interested in drugs as a result of the officer’s visit. I still recall the briefcase full of paraphernalia and can easily remember the feather roach clip, proudly returning home from school to tell my mom I learned what a roach clip was. Nevertheless, Felker-Kantor’s meticulous research into the history, program evaluations, and popular perceptions of DARE help to clarify what its ultimate goal was: to humanize police, while also establishing a continued surveillance system in American schools. I honestly hadn’t thought much about that. I’ve worked in education for nearly 25 years and since Columbine, have sadly come to accept that school resource officers (SROs) have become a part of education. However, this book brings about a better understanding of how these officers have arrived and how DARE tried to tie 9/11 to a need for more police presence in schools. I found this book to be not only insightful, but also necessary for today as more and more ideologies continue to push into schools under the false pretense of protecting children. While not directly stated, Felker-Kantor’s research and analysis presents some important lessons in considering how using children and education can pressure politicians, policy makers and public support into giving up their freedoms or easily accepting increased police presence in our lives. Additionally, I appreciated this book’s analysis of how the presence of police can vary for different groups. Until recently, I didn’t realize that DARE also pressured children to snitch on their parents’ drug and alcohol use. Bettina Love’s amazing book Punished for Dreaming also shared how programs like DARE impact students of color and ultimately cause more harm than good. I highly recommend this book for educators and others working with students and schools to better understand how programs with good intentions might ultimately have harmful outcomes for students. Furthermore, it's important to read to understand how political pressure can often influence learning and pressure schools to accept a greater police presence. There were so many great ideas in this book, and it applies to all of society, not just teachers and schools.
Thank you to NetGalley and the University of North Carolina Press for providing a preview copy of this excellent and important book. Like many kids from the 80s and 90s, I too had experiences with the “Just Say No!” brand of drug deterrence. Along with the messages in popular school publications and on sitcoms, my school also participated in some kind of DARE program. I can’t remember if it was an actual DARE program since I don’t remember on going lessons. However, as other PA kids may remember, we were frequently visited by Trooper Ash (who showed up surprisingly in Alex Winter’s awesome Zappa documentary). However, all digressions aside, I bring this up because Max Felker-Kantor has written a book that importantly interrogates these kinds of programs in schools to ultimately conclude that their purpose was more about a PR program for police rather than any kind of drug deterrence. Much like Felker-Kantor’s conclusions about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of DARE, I too recall learning and becoming more interested in drugs as a result of the officer’s visit. I still recall the briefcase full of paraphernalia and can easily remember the feather roach clip, proudly returning home from school to tell my mom I learned what a roach clip was. Nevertheless, Felker-Kantor’s meticulous research into the history, program evaluations, and popular perceptions of DARE help to clarify what its ultimate goal was: to humanize police, while also establishing a continued surveillance system in American schools. I honestly hadn’t thought much about that. I’ve worked in education for nearly 25 years and since Columbine, have sadly come to accept that school resource officers (SROs) have become a part of education. However, this book brings about a better understanding of how these officers have arrived and how DARE tried to tie 9/11 to a need for more police presence in schools. I found this book to be not only insightful, but also necessary for today as more and more ideologies continue to push into schools under the false pretense of protecting children. While not directly stated, Felker-Kantor’s research and analysis presents some important lessons in considering how using children and education can pressure politicians, policy makers and public support into giving up their freedoms or easily accepting increased police presence in our lives. Additionally, I appreciated this book’s analysis of how the presence of police can vary for different groups. Until recently, I didn’t realize that DARE also pressured children to snitch on their parents’ drug and alcohol use. Bettina Love’s amazing book Punished for Dreaming also shared how programs like DARE impact students of color and ultimately cause more harm than good. I highly recommend this book for educators and others working with students and schools to better understand how programs with good intentions might ultimately have harmful outcomes for students. Furthermore, it's important to read to understand how political pressure can often influence learning and pressure schools to accept a greater police presence. There were so many great ideas in this book, and it applies to all of society, not just teachers and schools.
March 1, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
The DARE program was one of the most prominent anti-drug programs during the mid-to-late 1980s through the early 2000s. It was established in Los Angeles and quickly spread throughout the United States mainly in elementary schools, creating a alliance between local police departments and the children in these schools. Although the program was praised for its work in keeping children drug-free, there were other aspects to this program that signified an underlying political agenda, which the author discusses throughout this book.
The book appealed to me because of the fact that I was one of those students that completed the DARE program when I was in elementary school. I remember it being a break from the day and a great education program for which I would become (and remain) drug free. I understand Max Felker-Kantor's points in this book and can see where he is coming from. However, I will be honest. It's hard to look at a program like this that seemed so wholesome as a guise to promote potentially conversative values. Don't get me wrong; I think this is wrong to preach political points in schools (even to this day), but the realization is still hard to grapple with.
I thought that the points that Felker-Kantor made were redundant. I wish that the author would have added more information about the effects of DARE in other parts of hte country other than in Los Angeles. He spent entirely too much time focusing on the original location of the program and not enough of places to which this program spread, like where I grew up in Pennsylvania.
I wonder if the ideas in this book would have been better executed in a documentary or a series of articles instead of this book. Again, the author made some great points, but unfortunately, this expose became a little boring due to the redundancy of his information.
The DARE program was one of the most prominent anti-drug programs during the mid-to-late 1980s through the early 2000s. It was established in Los Angeles and quickly spread throughout the United States mainly in elementary schools, creating a alliance between local police departments and the children in these schools. Although the program was praised for its work in keeping children drug-free, there were other aspects to this program that signified an underlying political agenda, which the author discusses throughout this book.
The book appealed to me because of the fact that I was one of those students that completed the DARE program when I was in elementary school. I remember it being a break from the day and a great education program for which I would become (and remain) drug free. I understand Max Felker-Kantor's points in this book and can see where he is coming from. However, I will be honest. It's hard to look at a program like this that seemed so wholesome as a guise to promote potentially conversative values. Don't get me wrong; I think this is wrong to preach political points in schools (even to this day), but the realization is still hard to grapple with.
I thought that the points that Felker-Kantor made were redundant. I wish that the author would have added more information about the effects of DARE in other parts of hte country other than in Los Angeles. He spent entirely too much time focusing on the original location of the program and not enough of places to which this program spread, like where I grew up in Pennsylvania.
I wonder if the ideas in this book would have been better executed in a documentary or a series of articles instead of this book. Again, the author made some great points, but unfortunately, this expose became a little boring due to the redundancy of his information.
December 1, 2023
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I give this 4 stars because it contains a tremendous amount of new information about D.A.R.E, and issues surrounding it, and it is very well referenced. Nearly half of the pages are of references and notes. However, I found it to be repetitive – with the same information stated and quoted multiple times. It could have said as much in half the pages.
D.A.R.E. extended its reach several times and ways. They expanded to include anti-gang units and anti-violence units, but also included several issues which are morality and even religious morality – things which are better taught in homes or by religious organizations.
What D.A.R.E. had going for it were very good advertising campaigns. D.A.R.E. America, its overseeing administrative arm, saw to it that the program was consistent everywhere – even though parts of it were seen by state and local school boards as not being applicable to their communities. It was a fantastic money-maker – especially for the “private” side of that public-private partnership. Its advertising cleverly hid what it was – it was a policing operation, not an educational one.
What D.A.R.E. had going against it was that it was ineffective at keeping youth from trying drugs. It was very effective at some of its unstated goals, which the author teases out of available information.
I give this 4 stars because it contains a tremendous amount of new information about D.A.R.E, and issues surrounding it, and it is very well referenced. Nearly half of the pages are of references and notes. However, I found it to be repetitive – with the same information stated and quoted multiple times. It could have said as much in half the pages.
D.A.R.E. extended its reach several times and ways. They expanded to include anti-gang units and anti-violence units, but also included several issues which are morality and even religious morality – things which are better taught in homes or by religious organizations.
What D.A.R.E. had going for it were very good advertising campaigns. D.A.R.E. America, its overseeing administrative arm, saw to it that the program was consistent everywhere – even though parts of it were seen by state and local school boards as not being applicable to their communities. It was a fantastic money-maker – especially for the “private” side of that public-private partnership. Its advertising cleverly hid what it was – it was a policing operation, not an educational one.
What D.A.R.E. had going against it was that it was ineffective at keeping youth from trying drugs. It was very effective at some of its unstated goals, which the author teases out of available information.
October 30, 2023
I have to start by saying that I was two years too old to participate in DARE in school.
I remember the DARE officer coming to the school.
I was always wondering what happened to the DARE program, how it got started and how it spread so rapidly.
This book will answer most of your questions.
I really enjoyed how it was promoted from LAPD Chief Daryl Gates and basically admitted defeat in the War Against drugs by saying lets get them young before they have a chance to do drugs.
The most fascinating part to me, was the cultural stuff. The preaching of you have a choice in drug use, to really chasing the police into the schools. The mainstream values of you must respect the police, obedience is needed for future workers, etc.
The research never supported the main claim of DARE, that it would stop drug abuse in kids. In some research it showed that there was an increase in drug abuse from kids who went through this program.
This is an indepth look at DARE, how it spread and its ultimate downfall.
Very informative and rich in examples. The only thing, I wish there had been more interviews with the kids and how they felt after taking the class. Especially the inner city kids.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
I remember the DARE officer coming to the school.
I was always wondering what happened to the DARE program, how it got started and how it spread so rapidly.
This book will answer most of your questions.
I really enjoyed how it was promoted from LAPD Chief Daryl Gates and basically admitted defeat in the War Against drugs by saying lets get them young before they have a chance to do drugs.
The most fascinating part to me, was the cultural stuff. The preaching of you have a choice in drug use, to really chasing the police into the schools. The mainstream values of you must respect the police, obedience is needed for future workers, etc.
The research never supported the main claim of DARE, that it would stop drug abuse in kids. In some research it showed that there was an increase in drug abuse from kids who went through this program.
This is an indepth look at DARE, how it spread and its ultimate downfall.
Very informative and rich in examples. The only thing, I wish there had been more interviews with the kids and how they felt after taking the class. Especially the inner city kids.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
December 15, 2023
Thank you Netgalley and University of North Carolina Press for a digital ARC of this book.
This is a very attainable and easy to follow and read book about the DARE program that began being used in schools in the early 80s and spread across the country and the world.
What unfortunately a lot of people don't know is DARE had nothing to do with teaching kids to stay off drugs, its actual purpose was a campaign to reshape the image of police and to combine it with a war on drugs is an a politicians golden ticket.
If you know nothing about the program or politics this book has you covered. It goes over names dates and tells you who the players are and the rolls they had in this madness.
The last two chapters get into the deep stuff. The confusion that the police had over why L.A schools didn't want the program after 91'
Also the questionable question box where students were turning in their own parents for drug use and those parents were getting arrested. And all the studies being done that showed that the DARE program actually did more harm than help.
So while some of us laughed while we smoked pot while wearing our DARE t-shirt others had family members arrested and their lives torn apart just so the police could try to get people to respect their authority.
This is a very attainable and easy to follow and read book about the DARE program that began being used in schools in the early 80s and spread across the country and the world.
What unfortunately a lot of people don't know is DARE had nothing to do with teaching kids to stay off drugs, its actual purpose was a campaign to reshape the image of police and to combine it with a war on drugs is an a politicians golden ticket.
If you know nothing about the program or politics this book has you covered. It goes over names dates and tells you who the players are and the rolls they had in this madness.
The last two chapters get into the deep stuff. The confusion that the police had over why L.A schools didn't want the program after 91'
Also the questionable question box where students were turning in their own parents for drug use and those parents were getting arrested. And all the studies being done that showed that the DARE program actually did more harm than help.
So while some of us laughed while we smoked pot while wearing our DARE t-shirt others had family members arrested and their lives torn apart just so the police could try to get people to respect their authority.
April 4, 2024
DARE to Say No offers an overarching history of the infamous drug education program which encouraged elementary schoolers to "just say no to drugs." This book focuses on the program's role of police as educators, marking a major pivot in the 1980s and 1990s "war on drugs," while situating the program's popularity within the larger political landscape, such as the moral panics of the Reagan era, the "get tough on crime" attitudes of the Clinton administration, and the growing role of police in everyday life. The broad strokes of the history and implications of DARE were all familiar information to me, but the book's arguments regarding the social impacts of the program and its contextual role were well presented. The language is academic but accessible, if a little dry in its presentation. Even so, it is a useful overview for individuals who didn't live through the era or experience the program firsthand.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 4, 2023
I didn’t have any personal experience with DARE beyond exposure to people (who likely also had never participated in the program) ironically smoking weed in DARE t-shirts, so I was interested to learn more about this extremely culturally popular program and organization. I think this book provided a solid overview of how DARE started and how it grew. This section of the book did feel somewhat repetitive at times.
The strength of this book lies in its discussion of the critiques of DARE, both in a lack of proven effectiveness and in its unalloyed promotion of policing. Additionally, the discussion of the bipartisan political support behind DARE, from Reagan to Clinton as well as congressional monetary support was quite interesting.
My thanks to the University of North Carolina Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy.
The strength of this book lies in its discussion of the critiques of DARE, both in a lack of proven effectiveness and in its unalloyed promotion of policing. Additionally, the discussion of the bipartisan political support behind DARE, from Reagan to Clinton as well as congressional monetary support was quite interesting.
My thanks to the University of North Carolina Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy.
September 17, 2024
I am giving this book three stars because I think the content was good, but it was just organized really poorly. I ended up DNFing it halfway through because I was really frustrated by the lack of chronology. This book should have started with the history of the DARE program, and then had different chapters about aspects of DARE that helped or hurt the community. Instead, it was giving social commentary throughout, which was overly confusing. I'm a DARE hater, and I know it had negative consequences, so I was hoping for more from this book.
Thank you to the University of North Carolina Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the University of North Carolina Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 9, 2025
A well written book about DARE. I never thought about DARE after 5th grade, because my schools never promoted it as a milestone like prom or graduation (Come to think of it, my class never received the DARE shirts), and it never went into the 'Every child hates Barney after 6 years old' phase, but this definitely opened up my eyes to a lot about the program (It was financed partially by impounded vehicles obtained when arresting drug dealers? Kids turned in their parents?!). A little repetitive and slow, but it's my fault for reading it during lunch.
March 17, 2024
I thought that this was a fascinating history of D.A.R.E. I found myself wanting more in terms if situating the rise of the program in the larger drug “war” and more discussion of what it meant to place police officers in schools — particularly in light of the concurrent ramp up of zero tolerance discipline across the country.
July 24, 2025
read this book in under 24 hours after seeing it recommended in a YouTube video. I knew DARE had been proven to not work, but I had no idea about all the other shit they pulled... makes perfect sense in hindsight
August 22, 2025
I loved this book. Could have been a bit longer but it pretty much confirmed what I knew growing up- you don't go through DARE without at least growing up to try pot. Nobody kept saying "no" to drugs.
April 2, 2024
*3.5
As someone who had to sit through D.A.R.E. in elementary school, DARE to Say No was an interesting look at the program. DARE is one of those programs that you realize is unhelpful and bullshit as you get older. I really enjoyed how Felker-Kantor went into detail about just how ineffective it was to the point of taking funding for programs that would have actually helped. Overall, I think this is a great explainer for anyone unfamiliar with DARE but after a certain point the book becomes very repetitive.
As someone who had to sit through D.A.R.E. in elementary school, DARE to Say No was an interesting look at the program. DARE is one of those programs that you realize is unhelpful and bullshit as you get older. I really enjoyed how Felker-Kantor went into detail about just how ineffective it was to the point of taking funding for programs that would have actually helped. Overall, I think this is a great explainer for anyone unfamiliar with DARE but after a certain point the book becomes very repetitive.
April 3, 2024
I grew up at the tail end of DARE, but I don’t really remember the program. Just the “DARE to be drug free.” My husband still has an old DARE t-shirt he wears as a gym shirt.
Typically, I’m not a non-fiction reader, but the DARE program has always been so interesting to me. As previously stated, I don’t remember the program or much if any of its content. I don’t remember DARE officers in schools… but to this day I remember being terrified of drugs, so much so that perhaps I’m one of the program’s success stories as far as being drug free.
To read about the implementation, administration, abuse and ultimate failure of the program was just so interesting to me. Parts of the book felt very repetitive but I think serve a purpose to drive a point home. DARE was never supported by research. Drugs always win.
If you want a high level look inside the DARE program, how and why it was set up and it’s alterative motives you will find this book pretty interesting.
I wanted to read this book purely based off the cover, title and my lack of knowledge about the DARE Program.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Typically, I’m not a non-fiction reader, but the DARE program has always been so interesting to me. As previously stated, I don’t remember the program or much if any of its content. I don’t remember DARE officers in schools… but to this day I remember being terrified of drugs, so much so that perhaps I’m one of the program’s success stories as far as being drug free.
To read about the implementation, administration, abuse and ultimate failure of the program was just so interesting to me. Parts of the book felt very repetitive but I think serve a purpose to drive a point home. DARE was never supported by research. Drugs always win.
If you want a high level look inside the DARE program, how and why it was set up and it’s alterative motives you will find this book pretty interesting.
I wanted to read this book purely based off the cover, title and my lack of knowledge about the DARE Program.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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