Global Courant 2023-05-11 10:49:01
Houston, TX– The current fentanyl crisis has led to a shift in drug education. Now schools and police forces believe that children from group 5 should learn about the dangers of hard drugs.
The DARE America program has been around since 1983, originally teaching kids to “Just say no to drugs.” Now the message is changing and Venina Smith says her son could have benefited from the updated curriculum.
“My son died of fentanyl poisoning on September 16, 2020. He was 40 when he died, and had been dealing with addiction and mental health issues for several years since he was a teenager,” Smith said.
Dennis Osborn serves as DARE America’s Western Regional Director. Osborn says the updated curriculum helps raise awareness of the harsh realities of new drugs and the consequences of addiction.
DARE officers teach students in the Houston Independent School District. (Fox News/Joy Addison)
“We start teaching them about 8th grade and high school about addiction cycles and how the brain works and how they can become addicted to certain substances like heroin, fentanyl, opioids,” Osborn said.
