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Drug Czar Admits Federal Anti-Drug Ads Having Opposite Effect On Teens

Discussion in 'Seasoned Marijuana Users' started by kristoperobin1, May 20, 2002.

  1. #1 kristoperobin1, May 20, 2002
    Washington, DC:  Advertisements paid for by the federal government to deter teens from using drugs may actually be encouraging some viewers to experiment with marijuana, according to statements made by White House Drug Czar John Walters this week.  Walters' admission came just days before the release of a federally-commissioned report announcing that the government's $1.8 billion dollar anti-drug ad campaign has failed to discourage teens from using drugs, and in some cases, may actually encourage use.
    "Despite spending millions of taxpayers' dollars, the government's anti-drug media campaign is having the exact opposite effect on America's teens than the one lawmakers intended," NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said.
    Based on the ads' content, however, Stroup said that the result should come as no surprise. "Kids know the difference between honest education and government propaganda," he said.  "They acknowledge the reality that marijuana is not the same as heroin, even if their government does not."
    According to the forthcoming review, conducted by Westat Inc. and the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, "there is no evidence" indicating that the government ads have had a "desirable effect on youth," or led to a decline in adolescent marijuana use.  In fact, the evaluation noted that among 12- and 13-year old viewers, the ads were more likely to encourage the use of marijuana.
    The report defined the primary objective of the ad campaign, which began in 1997, as "reduc[ing] the number of young people who try marijuana."  To date, federal officials have spent nearly $2 billion - half of it funded by taxpayers, the other half coming from network and media donations - on the campaign.  According to the study, adolescents are exposed to the White House anti-drug ads an average of 2.7 times per week. 
    A previous evaluation compiled by Westat and Annenberg in December and publicized by The NORML Foundation in March reported, "Thus far, there is relatively little evidence for direct effects of the [National Youth Anti-Drug Media] Campaign on youth."  The report further stated that the only significant association attributable to the ad campaign was an increase in marijuana use among 14- to 15-year-olds.  The evaluation also found "some evidence" of an increase in marijuana use among suburban 14- to 18-year-olds.
    Nevertheless, despite the campaign's admitted failings, the Drug Czar is asking Congress to continue funding the program at present levels - approximately some $180 million annually.  Walters alleges that he will manage the monies more efficiently than previous administrations.  NORML's Stroup called that claim ridiculous.
    "As long as the government insists on substituting 'reefer madness' in lieu of honest information, these ads will continue to have a negative impact on teens," he said.  "Rather than continue down this failed path, federal officials ought to take a page from their more successful campaigns to discourage drunk driving and teen tobacco smoking - both of which we have significantly reduced in recent years.  We have not achieved this by banning the use of alcohol and tobacco, or by targeting and arresting adults who use them responsibly, but through honest education campaigns.  We should apply these same principles to the responsible use of marijuana."
     
  2. #2 Pretender, May 21, 2002
    That is so damn right.
     
  3. #3 justme, May 21, 2002
    wow...[​IMG]

    Peace,
     
  4. #4 zer0_co0L_biTch, Jun 3, 2002
    that could not be any more accurate!! a lot of the teens i know (including myself) just laugh at the stupid ass anti-drug ads and it makes us want to go get stoned even more..
     
  5. #5 scamp, Jun 3, 2002
    Oh yeah, I agree completely. All those ads do is make me mad, and then I get even more interested in getting active for legalization. How the hell do these guys get the idea that their messages are going to convince people?
     
  6. #6 Unholy, Jan 5, 2005

    *nods and seconds*
     
  7. #7 lman_15, Jan 5, 2005
    thats deffinatly tru almost all anti drug ads i've seen are full of bull shit... :smoke:
     
  8. #8 RavenousDespair, Jan 5, 2005
    yeah the ads pisses me off....but then i laugh...then i see it again...pisses me off.....overall......




    it pisses me off

    :(
     
  9. #9 PianoKeyMurder, Jan 6, 2005
    Yeah i really hate those adds to. Theres been so many times where im smoking a bowl and those adds pop up on tv, it just makes me laugh and it makes me kind of mad that our government looks down on marijuana and how they blow facts about marijuana out of proportion. :smoking:
     
  10. #10 Motoxridah, Jan 6, 2005
    I think the funniest commercial is when they kid goes to get his burger and he pulls out his money and theres a little weed in a baggie that he accidently pulls out and then he shoves it back in his pocket and says "sorry"
     
  11. #11 InvaderGir, Jan 6, 2005
    i know for a fact the anti-drug commercials that feature the high black guys in the car made my friend want to try it... lol... i tend to find them pretty amusing... just cuz i can always see myself in that situationa nd how freaked out i would be
     
  12. #12 illsmosisyou, Jan 6, 2005
    about month and a half ago i was packing a bowl on my couch and then relaxed for a bit till i smoked it. while it was in my hand i saw that add with the girl who works at the super market and talks about not being a (papaphrasing) "loser" and not gonna "mess up her future for pot". i couldn't stop laughing for 5 minutes. not just giggles, i mean all out-spit flying-foot stompin-knee slappin Robin Williams goodness. oh man... i love the government, they take themselves so seriously when no1 else does. the irony... spending billions of OUR dollars to convince US that herb is wrong when really they're just throwing it down the drain. oh well...
     
  13. #13 pot head, Jan 6, 2005
    so true
     
  14. #14 HoboSexual, Jan 6, 2005
    yea last night i was taking a piss at a restaurant and it said say no to drugs on the little rubber urinal thing. made want to go get high
     
  15. #15 tehpottestmofi0, Jan 6, 2005
    yeah, that stuff makes me laugh, but also pisses the hell at of me because of how obtuse our government is about mj use...but at least its good that most teens realize how full of shit our government is :)
     
  16. #16 Grim Bongmaster, Jan 7, 2005
    I remember back in the day we had some anti drug day at school, and we wore these ribbons that said ......."drug free is the way to be", and my friends and I would mark out free and ad and ie at the end of drug. The only thing these campaigns do is, eventually, when the kid grows up and figures out he's been lied to about pot. He's going to wonder what else he's been lied to about.

    "Drugie is the way to be"
     
  17. #17 Boffin, Jan 7, 2005
    Just noticed that my good friend Unholy unearthed this from over 2 years back hehe! So very true, though. "D.A.R.E" in this country sucks... our D.A.R.E officer was a 50-a-day cig smoker WHICH HE TOLD US. "Kids, I started smoking when I was 6... Still smoke 50 a day... yump..." God damn. The only reason that would deter me from cigarettes is if I thought I'd end up like that fat bastard. The system in our school is pretty tight though... They don't bother trying to lie to us about it- My friend's teacher went as far as to say "Well, kids from the evidence here it basically points to 'Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't the heavy stuff... just smoke weed.'"
     
  18. #18 skittles, Jan 7, 2005
    the Statement "say no to drugs" is total bullshit. 99.9% of the population does take some form of them. Wether it be caffine, aspirin, or an asthma inhaler their still drugs. Anything that alters the way your body works is a drug.
     

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