D.A.R.E. Program Steps Up Curriculum For Utah Students

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – On the heels of the Utah Solutions Summit, the Utah D.A.R.E. Program announced Tuesday a new curriculum to enhance the current program in the fight against opioid addiction.

D.A.R.E’s new curriculum for students K-12 will focus on opioid and over-the-counter prescription drug abuse prevention. It will include lessons for each grade level, such as who to call in case of an emergency, medicines that help and medicines that hurt, and the opioid and heroin epidemic.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes made the announcement at the Capitol Building, calling it an exciting new chapter for D.A.R.E and the fight against opioid abuse.

Currently there are only 100 officers who teach D.A.R.E., and more than 70,000 students went through the program last year. Starting Tuesday, 20 additional officers will begin training to teach. A Spanish curriculum is also in the works.

According to D.A.R.E, every day more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. Experts project it will increase by 19 percent annually, calling opioid abuse America’s new deadly crisis.

However, according to the DEA, Utah is one of the few states that has seen an 11.9 percent decrease in overdoses over the last 12 months.