WHEREAS drug abuse is an ongoing problem in the province of Alberta, and is costly to individuals and families, as well as to society as a whole;AND WHEREAS cooperation between school jurisdictions and police forces throughout Alberta has provided an opportunity to reach young Albertans in Grade 6 classrooms with a drug resistance message through the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program;AND WHEREAS local police detachments provide this instruction as an optional activity of each detachment, in some cases requiring significant volunteer time on the part of police personnel;AND WHEREAS a lack of committed funding, and insufficient availability of volunteers in some detachments, prevents the DARE program from being offered in all schools;AND WHEREAS DARE is one of the few formal preventative drug resistance programs targeted at young Albertans;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Governments of Alberta and Canada to implement and fund a province-wide Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, which would be offered through local schools and delivered by the local police or by auxiliary or retired officers trained and monitored by the local police services.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program is designed for instruction to students in Grades 1 to 12 and has been taught to Grade 6 students throughout Alberta by local R.C.M.P. Detachments or other local police services. This Program puts most of its emphasis on tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants (glue) abuse. Topics discussed include peer pressure, media influences, violence and self-esteem, just to name a few. The Program consists of 16 lessons of 45 minutes each with a graduation ceremony in the l7th lesson. Prior to graduation, each student writes an essay stating their commitment to stay drug free.