UPDATE 07/31/15:
D.A.R.E. is reportedly claiming the post was a mistake, with regional director Ron Brogan telling HuffPo that “a service we use put this post up in error” and — sadly — “we have not changed our stance that we are opposed to marijuana legalization.” This all seems rather bizarre now, so stay tuned for further updates.
See original story below.
Join me, if you feel so inclined, on a brief though revelatory journey back to the year 1982 — an era pre-me and (most likely) pre-you. Nancy Reagan, while visiting a school in Oakland, introduced a slogan which would inspire several decades' worth of misguided drug prevention strategies. Chief among these strategies, of course, was the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program — founded just one year after Reagan's ultimately pointless catchphrase. For a quick reminder of the general D.A.R.E. method of self-described "education," please consult the following:
Thankfully, the mainstream opinion on so-called drugs — at least with regards to weed — has drastically changed in the years since Reagan kicked off an illogical, reactionary approach to (mis)education. As more and more states wisely choose to reclassify marijuana as recreationally legal, those unfortunate enough to live in a territory controlled by the near-Trump opposition to societal progression continue to ask themselves "What the fuck? I still have to text Slim Ricky to buy a bag of stems and seeds while everyone else gets high quality product from an actual store?"
In an unexpected effort to reverse years of wasted and ill-advised policy, D.A.R.E. has now made it quite clear not only that they were completely wrong about weed — but that they support its widespread legalization. In a new op-ed penned by former deputy sheriff Carlis McDerment, the reality that legalization prevents further violence and an increasingly overcrowded prison system is finally (and quite firmly) admitted by those formerly on the opposing side of the debate.
As New York Magazine notes, the essay has recently been pulled from the D.A.R.E. site — with multiple outlets reaching out to representatives for an explanation. Thankfully, they caught a screenshot before its mysterious disappearance:
