The Drug Abuse Resistance Education recently found itself under fire by fans of Euphoria. The agency attacked the popular HBO show for glamorizing drug use and anonymous sex.
In a segment on TMZ, a rep from D.A.R.E. said the tee-vee show is “glorifying” and “erroneously” presenting a harmful picture of drug use.
“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.”
D.A.R.E. offered the producers of Euphoria and HBO the chance to partner with D.A.R.E. Along with their Youth Advocacy Board, a team of high schoolers, the organization hopes to meet and directly present their concerns.
But show fans didn’t take kindly to the agency’s stance. Show lovers blew up the internet attacking D.A.R.E. for trying to shame the show.
One fan pointed out the program turned them off drug use. Others said D.A.R.E. was more an influence to play with drugs than Euphoria. Another post argued Euphoria is better at warning against drugs than any D.A.R.E. program.
It’s also noted that the HBO program is rated TV-MA, the strongest a show can get. Audiences get forewarning about each episode’s content and, with the program in its second season, none has yet to complain.
A Reddit user said the program “shows the consequences of drug consumption at virtually every level.” That poster puts D.A.R.E. in the same audience as people who “can’t see the difference between” [the] “depiction of a damaging problem and glorification.”
NPR called the show a “parent’s worst nightmare” and a “creative triumph.”
Euphoria’s center is a group of high schoolers tangling with an excessive lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Its young characters constantly create the worst situations via the worst choices.
Rue Bennett, played by Zendaya, struggles with mental health and drug addiction. She’s also suicidal and in an emotionally unsettling relationship. She nearly overdoses (again!) in the second season premiere.
Whatever D.A.R.E. expects from a show centered on the abuse of drugs, you take a close look and Euphoria is about the disasters of drugs. No one is living the good life. The show is a platform for the worst aspects of drug use. Especially for young people who haven’t figured out where they’re going.
The creator of the show, Sam Levinson, has personal experience with drugs and is likely using that to demonstrate its most destructive potential. It’s a show that sits at the pit of your stomach and gives everyone something to think about. Whatever anyone hopes it should be, it’s a show that won’t pull punches.
The show’s based on an Israeli series from 2012. Also called Euphoria, it also took an open and often unsettling look at sex, addiction, and relationships in the lives of young people.
