WHERAS, National D.A.R.E. Day is observed each year on the third Thursday of April and is set aside to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of D.A.R.E. students and graduates, their D.A.R.E. Officers, and the schools and law enforcement agencies that teach D.A.R.E. curricula; and

WHEREAS, On April 19, 2018, National D.A.R.E. Day will be observed in thousands of schools throughout the fifty United States; and

WHEREAS, D.A.R.E. was founded thirty-five years ago in 1983 in Los Angeles and is now in thousands of the schools nationwide, as well as in more than 50 other nations around the world; and

WHEREAS, D.A.R.E. trains local police officers who in turn serve as a local resource in helping educate young people on how to resist peer pressure and refrain from drug use, violence, bullying, and other high-risk behaviors; and

WHEREAS, as a Nation, we must work to raise a drug-free and healthy generation of 21st-century leaders since substance abuse and other high risk behaviors have immense consequences with grave impacts on our society – destroying lives, tearing apart families, and introducing drug-related violence to our neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, Young Americans especially need the help and support of caring adults to resist pressure to use drugs or engage in other harmful activities; and

WHEREAS, Government and society must address the use of illegal drugs, opioids, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as prescription drug abuse among youth by building knowledge of the warning signs and risks associated with substance abuse; and

WHEREAS, Parents must take the lead in teaching the value of drug-free living; friends, mentors, teachers, and neighbors also have roles to play in helping adolescents understand the dangers of alcohol and drug addiction; therefore, let it be

RESOLVED, that April 19, 2018, be declared NATIONAL D.A.R.E. DAY, and that all join in the nationwide observance commemorating D.A.R.E.’s thirty-five years of service to students and their parents and together tackle this issue and encourage positive behavior so that communities can help young people reject the pressure to try illicit substances or engage in other hazardous behaviors.