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Const. Richard DeJong, the RCMP's drug-awareness coordinator, describes DARE as a "building block of prevention."

As students get older and face different social challenges, they need different information to address those challenges.

"There's certainly the need" for a more co-ordinated high school prevention program in this province, says DeJong. As it stands, response is primarily "patchwork" with little or no dovetailing among programs and district-specific efforts.

"Schools are just being reactive," he says. "You can't just leave it up to the police to get the message out there. You need to look at it from all different angles."

Vancouver police Insp. John De Haas says one organization is doing just that. The Search Institute in Minneapolis conducted a study of 200,000 Grade 6 to 12 students, looking at the experiences young people need to grow into healthy, well-rounded and caring adults. These include parental involvement and relationships with others.

When the institute asked how many of the kids used illicit drugs three or more times in the past 12 months, those with the fewest number of such experiences were far more likely to answer that they had.

© The Vancouver Province 2005