In an Ironic Twist, Drug Abstinence Program D.A.R.E. Goes After 'Euphoria' in a Scathing Public Condemnation For Glorifying Drugs
Zendaya showing Sam Levinson the finger guns!
If you grew up in the 90's, you may remember D.A.R.E. or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, an educational program that attempted to promote abstaining from drugs. Well, this group has risen from the dead (after losing federal funding in 1998) to condemn HBO Max's critically-acclaimed teen drama series "Euphoria" for glorifying drug use.
Starring Zendaya and currently in its second season, "Euphoria" has been praised for its excellent cinematography, stunning soundtrack, and willingness to tackle mature themes, which include delving into teen drug use. This topic choice was an intentional one, since series creator Sam Levinson has publicly shared that he based "Euphoria" in part on his own experience with drug addiction in his teens.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Levinson revealed, "I just wrote myself as a teenager. I think those feelings and memories they're still extremely accessible to me. So it's not a hard reach. I just write myself and what I was feeling and what I was going through when I was younger and I was dealing with addiction."
However, according to D.A.R.E., this honest depiction of teen drug use and how it takes over one's life could potentially lead to more teens actually using drugs. A D.A.R.E. rep said, "Rather than further each parent's desire to keep their children safe from the potentially horrific consequences of drug abuse and other high-risk behavior, HBO's television drama, Euphoria, chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use, addiction, anonymous sex, violence, and other destructive behaviors as common and widespread in today's world."
This is ironic due to the numerous scientific studies done on the D.A.R.E. program and its effectiveness. A study in 1998 by Dr. Dennis Rosenbaum found that graduates of the D.A.R.E. program were more likely than others to drink alcohol, smoke tobacco and use illegal drugs, with numerous other studies conducted between 1992 and 2009 arriving at similar conclusions.
It seems that the most effective way to educate teens about the dangers of drug use is to trust them enough with the full information on this important topic and allow them to make decisions on their own, instead of pushing abstinence through shame and intimidation. Barring teens from watching "Euphoria" isn't going to contribute to this goal.
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