I remember the DARE program back when I was in elementary school. Is it just me, or is this program a simple attempt to spew propaganda at young children who are too young to make important decisions for themselves? I was totally against drugs of any kind because all they told us was "drugs=bad". Now that I am older, I think that the DARE program, while having good intentions, is oversimplifying drugs, putting them all into a negative category. How many of you experienced the DARE program, and what are your feelings toward it? Comments appreciated.\par \f1\fs20 I think the dare idea has some basic good ideas that have been corrupted by prooganda. For example there program about alcohol is good when it teachs restraint. However of course they completely blow it and everything else out of proportion. \line\f0\fs24\par The government just wants out children not to smoke pot. Why you might ask? \line Well because the government doesnt want us to be independent. Marijuana is a tool for seeing through the evils of our government, By opening up the mind and expanding it to a higher level of consciousness. The government knows this, so thats why thier is dare. \line Simple and easy. \par it's kind of sick that they have a right to program kids with this shit. Before my friends started smoking and I actually looked at some facts on weed, I totally thought that it was just as bad as cigarettes (the health effects, such as cancer), you could OD on it like any other drug, and it was addictive as hell. I don't even remember the specifics of what they said because I was so young when I took the program but those messages are all that remained in my head. I'm glad I'm an open minded person and was willing to look deeper and consider facts when people around me started to use it, I know that people who aren't as open minded wouldn't even consider the facts and just pass the messengers off as junkies trying to pressure them into fucking up their lives.\par well I think there are wayy too many reasons and people pushing their agendas to limit the criminalization motivation to just that. But LSD and other powerful hallucinogens were definitely criminalized for that very reason. When the hippy movement went into full-gear that very thing happened, which explains a lot of the protests and thinking of that time. It's pretty fucked up that the government has to do that, a lot of hallucinogens will never be legalized as a result. Sorry to take this a little off-topic but are there any other major reasons for LSD and mushrooms etc. being made illegal? Other than just keeping with the anti-drug agenda anyway. Who else stands to benefit from them staying illegal?\par \pard\f2\fs20\par \pard\sb100\sa100\f1 The DARE program has been proven to be full of corruption. The police recieve money to run it and they squander it. A lot of police departments have gotten in "trouble" for doing things like spending the DARE money on $70 power staplers for every office in the station and buying "DARE vehicles" and using them only for personal use. They have hired relatives as "DARE consultants"...all sorts of stuff. It's a joke. DARE has been a total failure and waste of money anyways. I can't beleive I pay for that garbage with my tax dollars. \f0\fs24\par \pard\f2\fs20\par \pard\sb100\sa100\f1 LSD and mushrooms ARE dangerous, LSD moreso than mushrooms. It's not hard to overdose on acid, and generally speaking, people have the potential to do some really dumb fucking things on 'cid (I've done a few myself).. personally, I think all NATURALLY OCCURING COMPOUNDS should be legalized (shrooms, opium, weed mainly), but I'd prefer if synthetics like E and LSD stayed illegal, to be quite honest.\f0\fs24\par \pard\f2\fs20\par \pard\sb100\sa100\f1 everyone bases their whole argument on how people have the right to make their own decisions, well taking e and acid is no different, that is quite hypocritical, and maybe you dont want to take e or acid. fine, but what about other people? would you still make it illegal regardless of what they think? because you dont like it? saying things like that will not advance the cause one bit, if you think like the gov't ( YOU think its bad so it should be illegal) then you have no right to defend your own case about how other substances should be legal.\f0\fs24\par \pard\f2\fs20\par \pard\sb100\sa100\f0\fs24 I think alcohol SHOULD be illegal. Prohibition failed because of the racial blend in the US at the time. It was mainly Irish, British, French, Spanish, and Italian people; predominantly British. There were enough people drinking and fighting prohibition that they were able to get rid of it. Not because the government was wrong; because the people screamed loud enough that they want to harm their bodies and minds and livers and kill all sorts of innocent people in accidents. \line\line The reason marijuana didn't get the same treatment (ie. repeal of the illegalization) is because there weren't enough educated/legal Mexicans living in the US to fight it, and now the government's spreading propaganda for all it's worth to keep the populace in the dark. \line\line Why should LSD and E be illegal versus weed and shrooms? Weed and shrooms have, by your own statements, no adverse effects. LSD gives you flashbacks years down the road, E kills your seritonin levels after prolonged use. I think that they shouldn't be punished as severely as they are today, but they should definitely be illegal. \line\line By the way... the reason I stand so strongly against LSD and alcohol.. is because I've had a close friend and a parent lost to them, respectively. My best friend of 15 years ate 18 paper hits, and got 4 drops in each eye, in the space of 20 minutes. He ran around and was screaming, crying, and laughing at the same time, then his eyes started bleeding, then he went outside, climbed a tree to almost the top, jumped off, and landed on his driveway. \line\line My mom got hit by a drunk driver while she was crossing the street. The drunk drove straight through a red light at 92MPH in a residential zone. Nobody called the police or an ambulance for 4 hours; she was dead when they got there. The person was never caught, and the police have dropped the investigation.\line\par \f1\fs20 Firstly, there are a whole lot of abusable substances. The human body can overdose on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and even water! Just because it's possible doesn't necessarily make them inherently dangerous substances (ok some of the ones I listed are bad examples but I hope you can see my point anyway). Yes, you can take way too much acid, but what makes it unique from other substances in this respect? Next, I can see where you're coming from, Taco, and it's absolutely horrible what happened to your friend and mother. However, there will always be people who can't use a substance responsibly, and there will always be repercussions as a result of that. I disagree that this should give the government the right to dictate what we can and can not put into our own bodies, they have no right to dictate how we should live our lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying driving under the influence or anything should be legal, but responsible use should be. I apologize for using your situation as an example, but if a stoned driver had hit your mother that night, would you feel the same way about marijuana? Simply because it can impair judgement? I think so. I respect your opinion and could respect an outright stance against drug legalization, but the dangerous double standard that you created brings up many problems. Who should decide what substances should be legal and shouldn't be legal? Aren't a lot of the grievances that we all have with the war on drugs there because the government is doing just this? \line\f0\fs24\par \f1\fs20 I think that all the bullshit that it taught to kids in school, and out is ridiculous. They teach that alcohol and drugs are two different things. When in fact alcohol is much more of a drug than weed. This makes kids think that weed is just as had as heroin, and that they're on the same level. I cant stand it. the other day my friends lttle sister starts asking me all sorts of questions about drugs and what-have-you. first she asks if i ever smoked weed, isaid yes, kowing she was interstewd and wouldnt say anything. I explained to her about wed and shit, and told her she should do it blah blah, wait till you're older(not that i'm very old). then she 's like, waht about heroin, have u ever done that? i was amzed that she would even assume something like that, and i began exlanin the differecve between weed and heroin. and about addiction and withdrawl etc., and i noticed that shed always thoguht alcohol as not quite a drug, but it does soemthing. and weed + EVERYTHING is bad. then when explained weeds not really bad, she assumed ther others werent too. I dunno maybe this si just some stoned rambling, but i've notice things like this which i belvie are coming from mis-education.

The dare program is a bunch of shit, that is thought to brainwashed cops to go brain wash kids. well i cant say brainwash, because a lot of info in the dare program is good, like drinking and driving, etc. But how the bitch about how pot is the most god awful thing.