Episode 330 : D.A.R.E.
Life After MLM
Roberta Blevins
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I think by now, most of us have seen the "D.A.R.E. was a cop pyramid scheme" video (if not, it's linked below). I got tagged so many times I felt like I needed to at least look into it; I remember going through the D.A.R.E. program in 5th grade myself, so curiosity got the best of me. What I learned by dipping my toe in, looking for MLM and Pyramid Scheme connections, was way more than I ever expected. Racism, Police propaganda, MLM sponsorships, and thousands upon thousands of kids who loved and fondly remember a government funded program whose cost could not justify its means.
Show Notes
Things I Learned Last Night Podcast
r/antiMLM : Found my D.A.R.E. workbook from 2002 and Herbalife is a national sponsor
Sources
D.A.R.E. Is More Than Just Antidrug Education—It Is Police Propaganda
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Life After MLM is produced by Roberta Blevins. Audio editing is done by the lovely Kayla Craven, video editing by the indescribable RK Gold, and Michelle Carpenter is our Triple Emerald Princess of Robots. Life After MLM is owned by Roberta Blevins 2025.
Music : Abstract World by Alexi Action
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, I'm Roberta Blevins, and this is live after MLM, a podcast where we worked and the stigma of failure in an industry systemically designed for you to fail. |
| 0:20.1 | Join us as we dive into the real lifelife stories of survivors, experts, and advocates as we |
| 0:25.7 | debunk the common myths and fallacies of cults, frauds, scams, and multi-level marketing. |
| 0:31.6 | Thank you. The |
| 0:40.3 | The The The |
| 1:13.6 | The Hey, hun bots and hun bros, today is the day. |
| 1:40.6 | The episode that you've been waiting for that you've been asking me about and tagging me on social media about, today is our dare episode. |
| 1:49.3 | Back in November when the video was going around, I made a couple stories asking you guys about your experiences in the dare program. |
| 1:57.4 | So I wanted to share those real quick before jumping into this episode. |
| 2:01.8 | I asked, |
| 2:07.0 | did you go through the DARE program? What grade? Do you remember your DARE officer's name? |
| 2:12.8 | Did it have a positive impact in your life and community? And the responses were really fun. I got Officer Rory, fifth grade in 1988, 1989, North Carolina. I remember being told in fifth grade that |
| 2:21.2 | pot was just as bad as cocaine and heroin. I did it in fifth grade, no recollection of anything, |
| 2:28.1 | but I wish I still had the shirt. Sixth grade, remember it being a big thing at my school. |
| 2:33.5 | I won the poster contest, and we had a special graduation ceremony. I enjoyed it, and I was raised to respect police. |
| 2:40.6 | Maybe I was a goody two shoes, but as a kid with zero bad experiences, Dare made me curious about trying drugs. I didn't, but I was way more curious after the program. It was roughly fifth or |
| 2:53.2 | sixth grade. My essay was picked for me to read at Dare graduation. Fifth grade definitely thought |
| 3:00.9 | I'd be offered drugs on the daily. I still remember the theme song. Fifth grade, 1992-ish, |
| 3:07.2 | scary stories of what drugs would do. It worked. |
| 3:09.7 | I never tried any. I remember the movie. Cartoon All-Stars to the rescue. And lastly, multiple |
| 3:18.0 | times, I think, but definitely fifth grade. It's really interesting to see how so many of our |
| 3:24.0 | experiences were the same within |
... |
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