Hell Yeah...MPP releases TV ad lampooning drug czar's TV ads

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

TV Campaign Challenges Drug Czar's Anti-Marijuana Ads
First Commercial to Air in Washington, D.C., Beginning Feb. 27

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The first of a provocative new series of television commercials challenging the government's massive anti-marijuana ad campaign will begin airing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Feb. 27. The campaign is being mounted by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), headed by "Drug Czar" John Walters, spent $185 million last year on broadcast and print ads linking marijuana to violence and terror, but new evidence suggests they may be counterproductive. An independent evaluation, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and released in January, reported that "there is no evidence yet consistent with a desirable effect of the Campaign on youth," while teens who saw the ads most often "tended to move more markedly in a `pro-drug' direction" in their attitudes over time.

MPP's new ad confronts the government's commercials head-on, parodying ONDCP's "Nick and Norm" spots, in which two men discuss whether buying marijuana funds terror. In MPP's version, Nick notes that the marijuana trade may support violence because marijuana is illegal, while "If I buy a beer, that doesn't support terror, because beer is legal, right?" When Norm agrees, Nick concludes, "So what you're saying is if we make marijuana legal and regulate it like beer, it wouldn't support violence."

The commercial ends with the tag line "Marijuana prohibition. Harmless?"

Walters used his anti-marijuana ads against MPP's Nevada marijuana initiative, Question 9, this past fall. He has since refused the Nevada Secretary of State's request that he disclose his campaign expenditures.

MPP's commercial will air during morning and evening news programming on the ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates in Washington, D.C. The initial $20,000 ad buy will run through March 7.

The commercial script appears below, and the ad itself can be viewed online here. Television producers needing broadcast-quality copies should contact MPP Director of Communications Bruce Mirken. The independent evaluation of ONDCP's ads is available here.

"Drug Czar John Walters spent $185 million of our tax money last year to lie to the American public with misleading, dishonest scare ads," said MPP Executive Director Robert Kampia. "Our ad tells the truth: Marijuana doesn't cause violence, but prohibition does -- by forcing marijuana into the unregulated criminal underground."

With 11,000 members nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.

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"Did I Say That?"

[Two men are sitting in a restaurant, talking.]

NICK: Okay, so maybe a little of the money I spend on marijuana supports terror and violence.

NORM: Right.

NICK: And that's because marijuana is illegal.

NORM: Exactly.

NICK: When I buy a beer, that doesn't support terror, because beer is legal, right?

NORM: Now you've got it.

NICK: So what you're saying is if we make marijuana legal and regulate it like beer, it wouldn't support violence.

NORM: Did I say that?

[Silence. Text appears on black screen.]

Marijuana prohibition. Harmless?

Paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project
1-877-JOIN-MPP (toll-free)
www.MarijuanaPolicy.org

http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr022603.html



Here's the link to view the ad!!!!!


http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/commercials/

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

This is cool. We really needed something positive to happen after what happened earlier this week with the busts and such. I can't wait to see it on TV. I wonder how many stations will refuse to air it?

[dirtydingusus]

thank you god.....





i knew you where still looking out for us....

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

No shit, DirtyD!!!

[Bud Head]

Now thats what I call being hoinest!

It's about time they get the story right!!!1

Damn good job RMJL! Thanks

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

Here's the original email that I got telling me about the ad. Sorry about the way it looks...copy and paste, ya know? It takes to much effort to redo it.



Dear Friend:

The Marijuana Policy Project just launched the third stage of our
five-stage "war on drug czar" campaign. Today, we released a TV ad
that lampoons one of the White House drug czar's deceptive drugs-and-
terrorism ads. To view our ad, please see:

http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/commercials

We are spending $20,000 on our first barrage of ads over the next nine
days in Washington, D.C. In addition, the production of the ad -- plus
two other ads we will release later -- cost only $10,000 for all three
combined.

If you like our first ad, would you please donate some of the $30,000
that is needed to pay for the first round of ads?

http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar

To date, we have raised only $5,000 for this campaign. But we decided
to release the ad before raising the full $30,000 because we feared
that if we delayed any longer, our ad might get eclipsed by the
possible war in Iraq.

We made the right decision. A couple of hours ago, the Associated
Press distributed the following story nationwide ...

================================================== ====================

Group Spoofs Marijuana-Terrorism Link Ad

by Associated Press

February 26, 2003, 3:12 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- A television commercial challenging the government's ad
campaign linking marijuana use to terrorism will begin airing Thursday
in the Washington area.

The ad is a parody of the "Nick and Norm" spots -- sponsored by the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- in which two men
discuss whether buying marijuana ultimately funds terrorists.

In the spoof, Nick tells Norm that the marijuana trade supports
violence only because marijuana is illegal. "If I buy a beer, that
doesn't support terror, because beer is legal, right?" Nick asks. When
Norm agrees, Nick concludes, "So what you're saying is if we make
marijuana legal and regulate it like beer, it wouldn't support
violence."

Produced by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, which
advocates marijuana legalization, the 30-second ad is to air through
March 7 on the ABC, CBS and FOX affiliates in Washington at a cost of
$20,000.

Tom Riley, a drug policy office spokesman, said the argument is flawed
because the same rationale also would support legalizing heroin and
cocaine.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Riley said of the
parody. "Our ads have obviously struck a nerve."

Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirken said the government's
campaign is misleading.

"The drug czar has really gone heavily on the anti-marijuana binge
with the campaign he's running," Mirken said. "The point is really
that marijuana doesn't cause violence, prohibition does."

================================================== ====================

Would you please visit http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar to help pay
for MPP's first ad? Our TV commercials, which are a much-needed
response to the drug czar's ads that have been dominating the
airwaves, are a critical component of our five-stage "war on drug
czar" campaign.

In the first stage of this campaign, we filed a complaint with the
federal Office of Special Counsel, alleging that the drug czar
illegally used his office to campaign against our ballot initiative in
Nevada this past fall. It is imperative that we win this case, for the
good of the country. If we lose, it will mean that the federal
government will be able to serve as the largest campaign operation in
the history of the country -- at taxpayer expense. The case is still
pending.

In the second stage of our campaign, we notified the Nevada Secretary
of State that Drug Czar John Walters failed to file any campaign
expenditure reports on the money he spent opposing our ballot
initiative. Amazingly, the drug czar's office responded by claiming he
was exempt from filing the reports -- but failed to cite any laws that
provided for this exemption. Nevada officials are meeting today to
discuss the matter.

The third stage is our TV ad campaign, which we will roll out in other
targeted markets in the months to come, following the drug czar from
city to city so that local reporters will ask him to defend his ads --
and comment on MPP's ads. He will not be able to escape us.

The fourth stage, which will be announced next month, will include
members of Congress in a new front of our campaign. And the fifth
stage will be launched in the spring.

If we don't defend ourselves and our movement from the drug czar's
illegal campaign expenditures and deceptive TV ads, all the progress
we have made since the 1996 ballot initiative victory in California
will come to a screeching halt.

If you have a TV, you have seen the drug czar's marijuana scare ads.
In one, a teenager accidentally shoots his friend while smoking
marijuana. Another ad depicts a car full of marijuana users
accidentally running over a little girl on a bicycle. And other ads
claim that buying drugs funds terrorism. For all of the drug czar's
ads, please see http://www.mediacampaign.org/mg/television.html .

Would you please visit http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar to help fund
MPP's new, aggressive TV ad campaign?

We cannot take on this battle without your help. Thank you in advance
for your financial support -- and your vote of confidence.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. If you donate $250 or more, we will send you a compilation DVD of
MPP's landmark Nevada ballot initiative campaign last year,
including local and national TV news coverage, all ads that our
campaign aired on TV, the drug czar's TV ads, the Election Night
concession speeches at our campaign headquarters in Las Vegas,
and one speech and one panel discussion from our Anaheim
conference a few days after Election Day that served as a
postmortem on the election. This documentary will be shipped out
next week. (If you donated $250 or more to the Nevada initiative
campaign, this is the video you have been waiting for.)

P.P.S. You can choose to make your donation tax-deductible by checking
the appropriate box on the donation page (which will direct it
to MPP Foundation instead of MPP).

P.P.P.S. If you prefer to mail your donation, please send it to
MPP's TV Ad Campaign, P.O. Box 77492, Washington, D.C. 20013.
Thanks again ...

P.P.P.P.S. If you have the ability to run our ad as a Public Service
Announcement in your local community, please let us know by
responding to mpp@mpp.org.

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

Hey Blades...when you see the commercial on TV, try to remember what station you saw it on and around what time of the day and then post it here. If you hear of a station refusing to air it, then also post that too with the info on that TV station, if you can.

[Bud Head]

I am watching to see if they show it.

They had a commercial that I haven't seen, where this homeless guy is saying that back in the 70's the government blamed everything on the homeless and gays. Saying they were scum.

I don't remember all of it though!

[TheHempress]

wow!!! that commercial was great! I can't wait until that comes on and my mom sees it!

[dirtydingusus]

i saw the scum one two.....


it was like the name of the operation was "operation S.C.U.M"



but i forget what it stood for ...

[KraziHare]

It wasn't the government, it was tobacco companies. Those scum commercials are anti ciggarette not anti government.

Anyway, though I doubt they'll show them around here I'll keep an eye out, if anyone can find info on where they might be showing it besides washington lemme know please.