Editing Just Say No (section)

==Effects==
[[File:Just Say No.jpg|thumb|"Just Say No" memorabilia at the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] in 2008]]
Nancy Reagan's related efforts increased public awareness of drug use, but extant research has not established a direct relationship between the Just Say No campaign and reduced drug use. Although the use and abuse of illegal recreational drugs significantly declined during the Reagan presidency,<ref name="jb63">Benze, James G. (2005), p. 63</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/HSYouthtrends.html|title=NIDA InfoFacts: High School and Youth Trends|publisher=National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health |access-date= 2007-04-04}}</ref><ref name="pbsdrugs">{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/kleber.html|title=Interview: Dr. Herbert Kleber |access-date= 2007-06-12| work= [[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] |publisher=PBS| quote=The politics of the Reagan years and the Bush years probably made it somewhat harder to get treatment expanded, but at the same time, it may have decreased initiation and use. For example, marijuana went from thirty-three percent of high-school seniors in 1980 to twelve percent in 1991.}}</ref> this may be a [[spurious correlation]]: a 2009 analysis of 20 [[controlled studies]] on enrollment in one of the most popular "Just Say No" programs, [[Drug Abuse Resistance Education|DARE]], showed no impact on drug use.<ref name=SciAm14>{{cite news |first1= Scott O.| last1= Lilienfeld |first2= Hal |last2= Arkowitz| url= https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-just-say-no-doesnt-work/ |title= Why 'Just Say No' Doesn't Work| work= Scientific American| date= January 1, 2014}}</ref>

The campaign drew significant criticism. Critics labelled Nancy Reagan's approach to promoting drug awareness reductive, arguing that tackling the issue of drug abuse required a more complex approach than simply encouraging the use of a catchphrase.<ref name="NR American">{{cite news|publisher=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande03.html|last=Wolf|first=Julie|work=[[American Experience]]|title=Nancy Reagan|access-date=2008-01-22|archive-date=January 10, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110015229/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande03.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>  In fact, two studies suggested that enrollees in DARE-like programs were actually ''more'' likely to use [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and cigarettes.<ref name= SciAm14/>  Journalist Michael McGrath suggested that inflamed fears from "Just Say No" exacerbated [[mass incarceration]] and prevented youth from receiving accurate information about dealing with drug abuse and [[responsible drug use]].<ref>{{cite news| first= Michael |last= McGrath| url= https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/08/nancy-reagan-drugs-just-say-no-dare-program-opioid-epidemic |title= Nancy Reagan and the negative impact of the 'Just Say No' anti-drug campaign| work= [[The Guardian]]| date= 8 March 2016}}</ref> Critics also think that "Just Say No" contributed towards the well seasoned stigma about people who use drugs being labelled as "bad", and the stigma toward those people who are addicted to drugs being labelled as making a cognizant immoral choice to engage in drug use.{{citation needed|date= October 2020}} In a 1992 paper, Evans et al. commented: that the "Just Say No" approach had been "taken out of context and redirected in form as a formula for preventing all substance abuse. ... Because of the current pervasiveness of the catchphrase, we emphasize that ‘Just Say No’ is not enough!"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vinson |first=Emily |date=December 2020 |title=Just Say No: Dr Richard I. Evans Efforts to Influence Juvenile Behaviour through US Public Health Programming |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347956673 |access-date=Dec 29, 2023 |website=[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref>

In 2020, when scholars and historians were asked during the [[Siena College Research Institute]]'s first ladies study to assess the signature initiatives of the then most-recent ten first ladies (those from [[Lady Bird Johnson]] onward), "Just Say No" was ranked as the second-worst, with only [[Melania Trump]]'s "[[Be Best]]" campaign being more lowly assessed.<ref name="Siena2020">{{cite web |title=Eleanor Roosevelt America's Top First Lady for 6th Consecutive Time Abigail Adams Finishes a Close Second; Michelle Obama Moves to Third First Lady Initiatives – Lady Bird Johnson (Environmental Protection) Did Most to Raise Awareness and Address the Issue; Obama (Childhood Obesity), Betty Ford (Women's Rights), and Barbara Bush (Literacy) Made Major Contributions Jackie Kennedy - 4th but First on Being a White House Steward & Public Image |url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FirstLadies2020Release.pdf |website=scri.siena.edu |publisher=Siena Research Institute |access-date=6 March 2024 |date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>