DARE FAILING TO STOP DRUG USE, STUDY SAYS.

DARE courses and zero-tolerance policies are ineffective at stopping drug use among the nation's 14 million middle and high school students, according to a six-year study released Wednesday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

A survey by the institute, associated with Columbia University, found that 61 percent of U.S. high school-age teens and 40 percent of middle school-age kids say drugs are used, kept and sold in their schools. The study raised serious questions about the long-term benefit of zero-tolerance programs.

But DARE founder Glenn Levant, a former Los Angeles Police Department official, dismissed the report as a biased assessment of his program, which was founded in Los Angeles and is today used in 80 percent of fourth-grade through junior high school across the nation.

``The kids of Los Angeles and elsewhere are getting the best prevention education that is possible,'' Lavant said, noting that the report appeared to be based on outdated curricula no longer used in the schools.

The report concluded that substance abuse and addiction will add at least $41 billion to the costs of elementary and secondary education across the country this year.

``Drugs and alcohol have infested our schools and threaten our children and their ability to learn and develop their talents,'' said Joseph Califano, president of the center that conducted the study and former secretary of health, education and welfare, in a prepared statement.

The report said DARE courses urging children to resist substance abuse show little evidence of ``any extended impact on student smoking, drinking or drug use.''

What works, experts found, are anti-drug partnerships involving parents, kids and school personnel.

``But that's exactly what DARE is,'' said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Edgar Palmer, who helps run the program in city schools. ``The program is not just about telling kids to stay away from drugs. It also teaches life skills - how do you avoid situations, how do you deal with it when another kid asks you if you want a beer.''

DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It was founded in 1983 and Los Angeles schools were the first to implement the 17-week program which has traditionally targeted elementary school students. Middle schools and high schools also have a 10-day program to reinforce the message.

But this fall, Palmer said Los Angeles schools will implement the latest revision in the DARE curriculum, which will strive to make a bigger impact on middle school students.

``The new program will send a stronger message to middle school kids because that's when the actual exposure occurs,'' Palmer said.

Levant said he was disappointed that Califano failed to note that the study was funded in part by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a group that also funds Project Alert, another drug prevention curriculum for middle-grade students.

The report also found that zero-tolerance policies encouraged ``parents and students to remain silent about drug use because of fear of expulsion.''

Wesley Mitchell, police chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said zero-tolerance policies continue to be misunderstood.

``Zero-tolerance is a philosophy that says that we will not tolerate and look away from certain behavior,'' Mitchell said. But, he added, it doesn't mean that every violation will automatically result in expulsion.

He said such policies mean that any school administrator, teacher or employee who becomes aware of a student's behavior must do something about it, with a number of options available.

``Expelling or arresting every kid is not in the best interest of managing social behavior.'' Mitchell said.