If You Can't Get Them to Stop Using Drugs, at Least You Can Get Them to Make Fun of You
Jacob Sullum | August 29, 2006, 4:05pm
A Government Accountability Office report on research tracking the impact of the federal government's $1.2 billion anti-drug ad campaign concludes that "the evaluation provides credible evidence that the campaign was not effective in reducing youth drug use, either during the entire period of the campaign [1998 to 2004] or during the period from 2002 to 2004 when the campaign was redirected and focused on marijuana use." The GAO adds that "exposure to the advertisements generally did not lead youth to disapprove of using drugs and may have promoted perceptions among exposed youth that others' drug use was normal....Westat's evaluation indicates that exposure to the campaign did not prevent initiation of marijuana use and had no effect on curtailing current users' marijuana use, despite youth recall of and favorable assessments of advertisements." In fact, during some periods and for some subgroups, exposure to the ads was significantly associated with an increased tendency to smoke pot.
Meanwhile, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which initially produced ads for the campaign but parted ways with the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the later years, insists that "Anti-Drug Advertising Works," citing "a growing body of evidence." Upon closer examination, however, this evidence consists almost entirely of post hoc, ergo propter hoc assertions.
But what do you expect from an organization that recently bragged about its iconic and unintentionally comic "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" spot? A PDFA press release says "the 'Fried Egg' TV message was so popular that it was satirized and spoofed on T-shirts, records labels, posters, and even on Saturday Night Live." If they're mocking us, we must be getting through to them!
Warren | August 29, 2006, 7:14pm | #
I know I've posted this several times before, including just the other day. But this thread crys out for a reposting.
PSA
Setting: Sunny day in the park, father and son taking a stroll.
Kid: Dad, did you ever do drugs?
Dad:[stammers] Well uhh
[guy with large Que cards (QCG) runs up and holds up card that reads:
YEAH I DID
AND IT WAS A DUMB THING TO DO]
Dad: [Looks at card, begins reading, vaguely dispassionate]
Yeah I did, and it was a dumb …
[shakes head begins speaking in engaged conversation voice ]
Yeah, yeah I did. I did a lot of dumb things too. But I also had some great times. Some of the best moments of my life happened when I was high. Like the first time I made love to your mother.
[QCG gets panicked look on face. Turns card over and reads it (twice) turns card back around and holds it up, waves it back and forth]
Kid: Sooooo, you're saying drugs made your life better?
Dad: I'm saying that drugs are powerful things. And like all powerful things, you need to have a healthy fear of them. You see son, drugs, like cars, a little knowledge, and religion, can be very dangerous. But they can also be useful and life enhancing when used responsibly. It's important that you educate yourself on the effects and risks before you start experimenting.
[QCG rotates the "yeah I did" card to back of stack. He frantically waves the new top card which reads:
BUT NO ONE EVER TALKED TO ME ABOUT IT]
Dad: [turns his back to QCG and faces his son] And the biggest risk of all is the fact that they're illegal. Not only can you get arrested, but if you're convicted you loose any chance of getting into college or landing a decent job. And of course there's no FDA or even Consumer's Reports to ensure purity and quality. For instance, Ecstasy is far safer than beer, but when you buy pills on the black market, there's no way of knowing what is in them. You could be putting anything from sugar to cyanide in your body.
[Father and son begin walking again. QCG violently throws the "no one ever" card away. His new card reads:
DRUGS ARE BAD
MMMMM-KAY
He is walking backwards and jamming his finger at his card]
Kid: So if making drugs illegal actually makes them more dangerous, why don't we just end drug prohibition?
Dad: Well it's like I said son, people do a lot of dumb things.
[Father and son continue talking and walk off together]
[QCG trips and falls to ground, cards go flying. Close up on his face – look of exasperation]
QCG: I need a drink
