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. #### -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "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/
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?
Now thats what I call being hoinest! It's about time they get the story right!!!1 Damn good job RMJL! Thanks
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.
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.
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!
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 ...
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.