D.A.R.E.

Making Good Choices

          Did you know that every four minutes a child is  arrested for using drugs? Also, did you know that by eighth grade 52% of students have tasted alcohol. 41% of  eighth grade students have smoked cigarettes at least once . In Dare, I learned how drugs and smoking can affect your body. Another thing I learned was how to get out of bad situations. Also, I learned to never try drugs or smoking.

            I learned that tobacco is a bad choice. There are more than 200 harmful chemicals in cigarettes. Did you know that  400,000 Americans die from tobacco each year? Almost 50,000 deaths per year can be attributed to secondhand smoking. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In cigarettes, there is a powerful substance called nicotine.

           Another thing I learned in the D.A.R.E. program was about the negative effects of alcohol abuse. Did you know alcohol is illegal for anyone under the age of 21?  There are over 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the United States. An interesting fact is that most teens don't drink alcohol. Mixing alcohol with medicine is dangerous. Teen bodies are still growing therefore, alcohol affects them more severely than adults. Alcohol slows down the brain causing effects such as loss of coordination, poor judgement, memory loss, loss of self-control, and slow reflexes. Too much alcohol can slow down the body and lead to a coma and even death. Also. alcohol weakens the heart muscle and and reduces the amount of blood pumped to and from the heart.   

           I also learned about the five resistance strategies to help me stay away from dangerous substances. Some things you can do to say no is to avoid the situation and have strength in numbers. Another thing to do is just to walk away. Also, you can say no or give an excuse such as saying, “Oh, I forgot i have to go walk my  dog.” You can also change the subject. If you know where people often use drugs, stay away from that place. Making good friends that don’t do drugs or smoke is a very important choice.

        In conclusion, through the D.A.R.E. program, I learned to never smoke or use drugs. Also, I learned about the five ways to get out of risky situations. I even learned that I can come up with my own ways to stay away from smoking and drugs.

I pledge my life to be drug free, to never hurt others by drugs, and to never abuse alcohol. I pledge to never endanger my friends, not to do drugs, cigarettes, and violence .