Many of the drug-prevention programs typically found in schools fail to jibe with the reality experienced by youth and are rarely supported by solid outcomes research, the Los Angeles Times reported May 15.

Researchers say that cookie-cutter prevention programs that cast all drugs as "bad" are confusing to kids, especially when such messages run up against issues like casual alcohol use in their own families. "When I told my parents what I learned in [school], that drinking was bad, they said they knew that, but that a drink once in a while was OK," said 9th-grader Mariana Kouloumian. "My parents know how much alcohol they can handle. They only drink socially -- and wouldn't drink and drive."

"Oversimplification is just one reason most school-based drug-prevention programs don't work," said researcher David Hanson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The decisions kids face are more nuanced than most drug programs make them appear."

Past studies have shown that only 35 percent of public schools and 13 percent of private schools use prevention programs with a proven track record of effectiveness. Some experts worry that popular programs like DARE -- which has received up to $1 billion in public funding but has never been proven effective -- could actually harm young children by encouraging them to see themselves as potential drug users, or by making drug use seem more prevalent than it actually is.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires every school to provide drug prevention, and says those that use federal funding must adopt programs that have demonstrated effectiveness. But many schools use local funds to support programs like DARE, which remains in about 70 percent of school districts.

Broader societal trends seem to have more effect on youth drug use than prevention programs. And DARE is not the only program that has been shown to have little or no impact on youth drug use: federal studies on the popular Families and Schools Together (FAST) program and the Reconnecting Youth program also have shown poor or mixed results.

Hanson said most prevention programs "tell kids things they will later find out aren't true, like alcohol is a gateway to drugs and will seduce you into trying more dangerous substances. Also, by saying all alcohol is bad, they send kids home thinking that if their parents have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer with their pizza, they are abusing drugs."

"If a child's father happens to tend bar, they come home and ask why he's a drug dealer," he added. "Then what happens when the child sees the off-duty DARE officer having a beer at the local bowling alley?"

The DARE program has recently been revamped to focus more on good decision making, avoidance skills, and resisting peer pressure. And other experts dismiss concerns that educating young kids about drugs could actually increase the odds of drug use. "Early and often. That's our cardinal rule," said Judy Cushing, past president of the National Family Partnership, founder of the Red Ribbon Week campaign. "It's never too early to tell kids what's healthy and what isn't to put in their bodies."