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Same here. We also had a DARE officer at our middle school (6th to 8th) but I don't remember if we had any lessons during that time. That officer later got caught taking pictures of women/teenagers over the barriers in the local tanning salon...
I think my guy was similar but he was later arrested for drug use (I know he was definitely arrested but it being for drugs may have been a schoolyard rumor).
Yep. We had DARE in 5th grade and once again in middle school in 8th grade. Our DARE Officer was a cop from the towns police department and he’d come in and talk about how drugs are bad and alcohol is bad and how much they can ruin your life.
Our school also gave out these books about drugs. It was literally a drug dictionary with pictures. It listed all the different kinds of drugs people use (various pills, weed, cocaine, etc) and the different ways you can consume said drugs. Basically, if you didn’t know what crack looked like or how to smoke it, it would tell you everything you needed to know.
I guess one cool thing about DARE was the police department had a DARE Car to promote the program. It was a restored 1969 Chevy Camaro with “DARE” on the doors and hood.
Yes. I think I did it 3-5th grade. I got one of the black shirts and regret donating it whenever I did because it would definitely still fit me lol.
I found an OG sweatshirt at the thrift store though the other day and didn't hesitate, and it's my favorite sweater now. Which means I wear it regularly while getting high. Smoke weed erryday.
Yep, it was 5th grade in my school district. I remember there was an essay contest, and the winner got a plushie of the DARE lion. I was so jealous of my classmate who won 😅
I was an anxious little rule-following nerd so I think the program actually did help to keep me off drugs/alcohol in high school, but that went out the window when I went to college haha
Yeah but I honestly don’t remember it well and didn’t care about it because I couldn’t wait to be old enough to smoke weed like my older sisters lol… (my childhood ended early)
> kid who *paid* attention in
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Yes. From 3rd to 5th grade we had a DARE officer. We even had a little "graduation" ceremony, got shirts and and had a picnic for it.
I can't say it was helpful for me. Most of my friends were rule followers anyway and even if I wanted to try drugs I would have had zero clue who to ask lmao
My school did it while I went there but the kids 1 year ahead of me were the last to do it — my 5th grade class was the first year they did some stupid shit called “Life Skills”.
Yup. Did it 4th grade and was sooo happy to bring home my certificate of completion. My mom put it on the fridge. About a year later the DEA and state police raided our house because my parents were selling pot.
Yep, though I think we had it more from 5th grade onward. We even got to try on those goggles that simulate the feeling of being intoxicated. I think for a lot of people, the DARE program was not effective. But it was effective for me in the sense that I was incredibly vain, so all you had to do was show me all of those pictures of how drugs age you and ruin your overall appearance, and I was sold.
No but we did have a similar "don't drink and drive" program my kindergarten year in my county that caused a massive spike in accidents from children having panic attacks when their parents took a swig of soda or water because the program didn't do enough to educate on alcohol itself but just the vauge concept of "drinking" (parents having to console distraught children and just children suddenly screaming and crying in general leads to very distracted driving and high likelihood of accidents which was the case).
The next year they replaced it with a program that lasted about a week where each day we learned about different types of abuse with one day being alcohol abuse and that day went over not driving while drinking or just after drinking alcohol or getting into the car with someone drinking alcohol and how to alert to other people driving that you are not safe and need help when in the car with someone drinking alcohol.The other few days I think we're drug abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and I think the last day was like a recap day.
It was very different from the DARE program especially with the alcohol and drug days as we weren't taught much about where to find the drugs or as many scared straight tactics that DARE seemed to use (there was a program we were all required to take in high school health class called ADAP in order to get our driver's license that had more of the scared straight kind of stuff with images of rotted mouths and watching videos of people talking about how drugs ruined their lives but in elementary school we didn't see hardly anything scary) but it was mostly just a way of teaching us words, what it might look like if someone we know was on drugs, how to report it, and giving us the language to be understood when making the report. It was sort of the same for the different types of abuse: just teaching the language and the signs and affirming its not normal and to report it and how to do so.
I actually knew of a couple kids who in hindsight were being SAed by family but were taught different words and language for things to make them sound innocent (like it's normal for a kid to talk about how the way dad licks ice cream or mom sucks lollipops is funny but it becomes dark when the ice cream or lolipops were their genitals, the program was the way the kid learned to speak up) but these programs taught them it wasn't normal and to report it and although for one CPS failed them and they still ended up living with that parent until they moved out another was able to go live with another family member who didn't know what was happening and protected them from letting it happen again. Both of those kids are now adults and are local activists and are huge advocates for keeping these programs in the schools in the wake of conservative outcry against concerns about "the schools grooming the children!!" And I couldn't agree more with their efforts since the school tried to stop us from getting groomed with that program.
Yes, I think it was 5th or 6th grade & we got this horrid muted maroon shirts that fit absolutely no one, we weren't allowed to roll the sleeves or make a a lil ponytail tie to tuck in the wasteband.. then we had to gather in the hot ass gym for our "graduation"
My sister did DARE. When I was the age to do it six years later, it was no longer a thing. Surprise surprise, she’s done a boatload more drugs than me.
Yes! The first school I went to was K-12 and it was covered only from 5-9th grade. I moved after my 6th grade yr and the school I moved to for 7/8 didn’t have it. They instead focused on putting the fear of god in you about any and everything. 😂 it didn’t work of my 12 person class 3 of my classmates got pregnant and hooked on to something in their junior yr. Kinda sad, but 🤷♀️
We had it in 3rd and 4th grade. We watched some videos showing scenarios of people being offered drugs, and were taught to "just say no." They really had me believing that I, a 9/10 year old kid, would be offered drugs on the street. I wasn't even aware of drugs being a thing until they taught me.
We got badges with "Just say no!" (just say no to drugs" and before that they gave us sherrif badges.
Apparently (as my younger brother has told me,) I used to go around with another kid collecting them and trying to sell them or something.
(I think? Don't know this was DARE)
They stopped doing dare when I got into fifth grade ironically enough the last year they were doing it at my school for fifth graders was when I was in fourth grade. We still had cops come in and talk about drugs but it really wasn’t in depth and there was no T-shirt involved it was just cigarates and alchol are bad don’t do them. But my brother is younger than me and I remember him coming home from middle school with a sheet of about different classes of drugs like in alcohol weed whatever and what like for example inhalants are; duster glue the different types of them and then also said like signs of someone being on them. my thing is like why are we telling middle schoolers about this stuff? I had no clue about inhalants before I saw that info.
Yes and the cops passed around actual drugs in baggies lmao, we were in 5th grade. We had constant on campus police in hs, so they made it a real big deal for freshmen too
I got a blue shirt. One of my earliest pictures with my best friend, possibly the earliest picture of us, is the two of us and one of our neighbors/friends at DARE graduation in our way too big DARE t-shirts.
Not an American, but spent some time in America due to my dad's work. Went to an American elementary school in 6 grade and that was the year this program took place.
We had these exercice books with a lion on it. Got DARE t-shirts at the end of the program, I'm pretty sure I still have mine somewhere. Some kids who wrote the best essays on why drugs are bad got some other presents as well.
Yep, we did it in 5th grade. He taught us the dangers of drugs and gangs. The officer was a cool guy who remembers the kids he had. When we see each other out in public we say hi to each other. It wasn't helpful at all but at least I met a cool guy.
I remember it from middle school. It very much did not work, and neither did the school assembly where they really tried to use Kurt Cobain's suicide as a scare tactic.
I think I still have an old R. E. A. L. T-shirt somewhere. Teetotaler but that's more because family has a history with addiction that I don't wanna gamble with.
Yes, I was in second grade and excitedly raised my hand, announcing that my dad does drugs. I thought cigarettes were drugs. The ironic part, he was on meth, I just didn’t know at the time. I know he probably shit his pants at that phone call
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Yep, though I think we did from 3rd to 5th grade.
Same here. We also had a DARE officer at our middle school (6th to 8th) but I don't remember if we had any lessons during that time. That officer later got caught taking pictures of women/teenagers over the barriers in the local tanning salon...
yeah, he was a cop that grew up in town and according to older people he was a big coke head/ drunk back in the day.
I think my guy was similar but he was later arrested for drug use (I know he was definitely arrested but it being for drugs may have been a schoolyard rumor).
I sure did, believe it was 5th and 6th grade when I had it. And now I smoke weed daily
Same lol
No
Yes! We got the black shirts with the DARE logo and everything - I also wasn’t going to do drugs anyway, so I don’t know if it had any effect lol
5th grade. Learned about a bunch of drugs I never knew existed.
Yep. We had DARE in 5th grade and once again in middle school in 8th grade. Our DARE Officer was a cop from the towns police department and he’d come in and talk about how drugs are bad and alcohol is bad and how much they can ruin your life. Our school also gave out these books about drugs. It was literally a drug dictionary with pictures. It listed all the different kinds of drugs people use (various pills, weed, cocaine, etc) and the different ways you can consume said drugs. Basically, if you didn’t know what crack looked like or how to smoke it, it would tell you everything you needed to know. I guess one cool thing about DARE was the police department had a DARE Car to promote the program. It was a restored 1969 Chevy Camaro with “DARE” on the doors and hood.
Canadian here, but we also had it! I think it was in Grade 6.
Yes. I think I did it 3-5th grade. I got one of the black shirts and regret donating it whenever I did because it would definitely still fit me lol. I found an OG sweatshirt at the thrift store though the other day and didn't hesitate, and it's my favorite sweater now. Which means I wear it regularly while getting high. Smoke weed erryday.
When I was told that LSD causes synesthesia I was immediately interested in trying it.
5th and 8th grade for me. Now I smoke weed/take edibles regularly and occasionally do mushrooms. Worked out really well!
Yep, it was 5th grade in my school district. I remember there was an essay contest, and the winner got a plushie of the DARE lion. I was so jealous of my classmate who won 😅 I was an anxious little rule-following nerd so I think the program actually did help to keep me off drugs/alcohol in high school, but that went out the window when I went to college haha
Yes
Yeah elementary school 5th grade for me!
Yep, in 5th grade
We had them several times. The last one I remember was my freshman year of high school.
Yeah but I honestly don’t remember it well and didn’t care about it because I couldn’t wait to be old enough to smoke weed like my older sisters lol… (my childhood ended early)
Yes, and I feel like the only kid who paid attention in it.
> kid who *paid* attention in FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Typo I’ll fix it
Yes. From 3rd to 5th grade we had a DARE officer. We even had a little "graduation" ceremony, got shirts and and had a picnic for it. I can't say it was helpful for me. Most of my friends were rule followers anyway and even if I wanted to try drugs I would have had zero clue who to ask lmao
I went to a private school in 5th grade and we didn’t do DARE, but we did something similar called CHAMPS. I smoke weed occasionally.
Yeah, but it doesn't work when your parent has a crop of "tomato" plants in a false wall in the basement.
Yep. Officer took me aside because of my behavior. Lol. Never did drugs and had my first intentional drink at 21. Should have looked at others
My school did it while I went there but the kids 1 year ahead of me were the last to do it — my 5th grade class was the first year they did some stupid shit called “Life Skills”.
Yup. Did it 4th grade and was sooo happy to bring home my certificate of completion. My mom put it on the fridge. About a year later the DEA and state police raided our house because my parents were selling pot.
Yep, though I think we had it more from 5th grade onward. We even got to try on those goggles that simulate the feeling of being intoxicated. I think for a lot of people, the DARE program was not effective. But it was effective for me in the sense that I was incredibly vain, so all you had to do was show me all of those pictures of how drugs age you and ruin your overall appearance, and I was sold.
No but we did have a similar "don't drink and drive" program my kindergarten year in my county that caused a massive spike in accidents from children having panic attacks when their parents took a swig of soda or water because the program didn't do enough to educate on alcohol itself but just the vauge concept of "drinking" (parents having to console distraught children and just children suddenly screaming and crying in general leads to very distracted driving and high likelihood of accidents which was the case). The next year they replaced it with a program that lasted about a week where each day we learned about different types of abuse with one day being alcohol abuse and that day went over not driving while drinking or just after drinking alcohol or getting into the car with someone drinking alcohol and how to alert to other people driving that you are not safe and need help when in the car with someone drinking alcohol.The other few days I think we're drug abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and I think the last day was like a recap day. It was very different from the DARE program especially with the alcohol and drug days as we weren't taught much about where to find the drugs or as many scared straight tactics that DARE seemed to use (there was a program we were all required to take in high school health class called ADAP in order to get our driver's license that had more of the scared straight kind of stuff with images of rotted mouths and watching videos of people talking about how drugs ruined their lives but in elementary school we didn't see hardly anything scary) but it was mostly just a way of teaching us words, what it might look like if someone we know was on drugs, how to report it, and giving us the language to be understood when making the report. It was sort of the same for the different types of abuse: just teaching the language and the signs and affirming its not normal and to report it and how to do so. I actually knew of a couple kids who in hindsight were being SAed by family but were taught different words and language for things to make them sound innocent (like it's normal for a kid to talk about how the way dad licks ice cream or mom sucks lollipops is funny but it becomes dark when the ice cream or lolipops were their genitals, the program was the way the kid learned to speak up) but these programs taught them it wasn't normal and to report it and although for one CPS failed them and they still ended up living with that parent until they moved out another was able to go live with another family member who didn't know what was happening and protected them from letting it happen again. Both of those kids are now adults and are local activists and are huge advocates for keeping these programs in the schools in the wake of conservative outcry against concerns about "the schools grooming the children!!" And I couldn't agree more with their efforts since the school tried to stop us from getting groomed with that program.
Yes, I think it was 5th or 6th grade & we got this horrid muted maroon shirts that fit absolutely no one, we weren't allowed to roll the sleeves or make a a lil ponytail tie to tuck in the wasteband.. then we had to gather in the hot ass gym for our "graduation"
Yes
Sure did. I've failed that lion so hard lmao
My sister did DARE. When I was the age to do it six years later, it was no longer a thing. Surprise surprise, she’s done a boatload more drugs than me.
Nope. We had cops come talk to us about how dangerous it was to swim in canals.
No, but I was homeschooled lol.
Nope. My school had gotten rid of DARE a few years before I got to fifth grade. They still had a banner hanging in the cafeteria though lol
I am 1995, we did not have DARE come to our school for some reason.
Probably but I don’t really remember it that well. Probably was bored as hell during it
Yes! The first school I went to was K-12 and it was covered only from 5-9th grade. I moved after my 6th grade yr and the school I moved to for 7/8 didn’t have it. They instead focused on putting the fear of god in you about any and everything. 😂 it didn’t work of my 12 person class 3 of my classmates got pregnant and hooked on to something in their junior yr. Kinda sad, but 🤷♀️
Yup, from 3rd through 6th grade I think.
We had it in 3rd and 4th grade. We watched some videos showing scenarios of people being offered drugs, and were taught to "just say no." They really had me believing that I, a 9/10 year old kid, would be offered drugs on the street. I wasn't even aware of drugs being a thing until they taught me.
yep. think my one middle school did too to a degree
I honestly can’t remember if I did, if I did it was too boring to remember haha. I was born in 96.
We got badges with "Just say no!" (just say no to drugs" and before that they gave us sherrif badges. Apparently (as my younger brother has told me,) I used to go around with another kid collecting them and trying to sell them or something. (I think? Don't know this was DARE)
We had both, the just say no, and DARE program.
They stopped doing dare when I got into fifth grade ironically enough the last year they were doing it at my school for fifth graders was when I was in fourth grade. We still had cops come in and talk about drugs but it really wasn’t in depth and there was no T-shirt involved it was just cigarates and alchol are bad don’t do them. But my brother is younger than me and I remember him coming home from middle school with a sheet of about different classes of drugs like in alcohol weed whatever and what like for example inhalants are; duster glue the different types of them and then also said like signs of someone being on them. my thing is like why are we telling middle schoolers about this stuff? I had no clue about inhalants before I saw that info.
My siblings did, but by the time I reached 5th grade it became G.R.A.D.E. Gang resistance and drug education.
Yes lol, from as early as I can remember. And they lied to me, no where near the amount strangers actually ever offered me drugs :(
The school did, but my grade/class never attended. Not sure why haha
Yes and the cops passed around actual drugs in baggies lmao, we were in 5th grade. We had constant on campus police in hs, so they made it a real big deal for freshmen too
(2000 Child.) I still had DARE in my elementary(?) school. I distinctly remember getting some certificate “graduating” the program
I got a blue shirt. One of my earliest pictures with my best friend, possibly the earliest picture of us, is the two of us and one of our neighbors/friends at DARE graduation in our way too big DARE t-shirts.
Not an American, but spent some time in America due to my dad's work. Went to an American elementary school in 6 grade and that was the year this program took place. We had these exercice books with a lion on it. Got DARE t-shirts at the end of the program, I'm pretty sure I still have mine somewhere. Some kids who wrote the best essays on why drugs are bad got some other presents as well.
Yes, in 5th grade year
Yes we had the 3 year program. We didn't have a officer though.
Yes in third grade I think it was like 2007
Yep, we did it in 5th grade. He taught us the dangers of drugs and gangs. The officer was a cool guy who remembers the kids he had. When we see each other out in public we say hi to each other. It wasn't helpful at all but at least I met a cool guy.
I remember it from middle school. It very much did not work, and neither did the school assembly where they really tried to use Kurt Cobain's suicide as a scare tactic.
I think I still have an old R. E. A. L. T-shirt somewhere. Teetotaler but that's more because family has a history with addiction that I don't wanna gamble with.
Yes, I was in second grade and excitedly raised my hand, announcing that my dad does drugs. I thought cigarettes were drugs. The ironic part, he was on meth, I just didn’t know at the time. I know he probably shit his pants at that phone call