The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., was at its height in the 80s and 90s. Led in part by violently anti-Black former L.A.P.D. chief Daryl Gates, the program claimed to prevent drug abuse and help youth resist peer pressure.
But the program actually exploited those same young people’s trust.
Officials convinced students that snitching on their family members and friends was an “act of true loyalty." And while students confided in officers out of concern for their loved ones, police responses weren't rooted in that same compassion.
Instead of health and family-oriented approaches, the result aligned with the rest of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs. Black communities were disproportionately criminalized.
Black children grew up and realized cops manipulated them to become informants. After one student reported his parents had marijuana, social services separated him from them.
Today, many agree that D.A.R.E. was a failure. But the logic behind it, positioning a “solution” to addiction as punishment, remains.
The students’ ideal solutions weren’t naïve. They wanted themselves and their loved ones to be safe and not in trouble. They wanted information and resources. They wanted medical attention if necessary.
That isn’t impossible with programs like D.A.R.E. The logic of these programs exploited the youth’s genuine desires to be safe. But the logic of liberation tells us we will create a future where all of that can be real.