cannabisnews.com: Government's Anti-Drug Ads Labeled 'Super Bust'





Government's Anti-Drug Ads Labeled 'Super Bust'
Posted by FoM on February 01, 2002 at 13:17:00 PT
By Susan Jones, Morning Editor
Source: CNSNews.com
A group that favors the legalization of marijuana is blasting the Bush administration for running anti-drug ads during Sunday's Super Bowl. In the two 30-second ads, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will spread the message that the illegal drug trade fuels terrorism. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws calls the $3.4 million federally-funded advertising buy a "colossal waste of taxpayers' money" - a Super Bowl "Super Bust."
Keith Stroup, executive director of NORML, insists that most of America's illicit drug users are solely marijuana smokers who do not use other illegal drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Said Stroup, "It is patently absurd to suggest that marijuana smokers are in any way supporting terrorism." The money used to pay for the ads was appropriated by Congress in 1997 to fund a White House youth anti-drug program. NORML insists that the two anti-drug ads -- the largest single government ad purchase in history -- will not have any affect on Americans' illegal drug habits. Undeterred by naysayers, however, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign insists that its anti-drug ads are registering with both kids and parents, many of whom admit to remembering (if not abiding by) the messages they hear.The government's anti-drug media effort has three goals: (1) to educate and enable kids to reject drugs; (2) to prevent kids from ever taking drugs, especially marijuana and inhalants, in the first place; and (3) convincing occasional users to stop.The government has tried other methods of getting its anti-drug message out, and those efforts have run into flak as well.Source: CNSNews.comAuthor: Susan Jones, Morning EditorPublished: February 01, 2002Copyright: 1998-2001 Cybercast News ServiceContact: shogenson cnsnews.comWebsite: http://www.cnsnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/White House Spends 3.4M for Super Ads http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11898.shtmlWhite House Airing Super Bowl Ads http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11882.shtml
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Comment #31 posted by Sam Adams on February 02, 2002 at 10:21:30 PT
nice one sick
Here's another NFL anecdote: I was watching a show on ESPN on how NFL players tear up their bodies, and they asked Joe Montana if he thought he ever went "too far". (Joe Montana returned from back surgery and played for a few more years after doctors urged him to retire because of risk of paralysis).Joe said yes, there was one point where it got a little ridiculous. Apparently once during the playoffs late in his career, he got pounded into the turf a few times in the first half, exacerbating injuries he already had. In order to return for the 2nd half, he had 24, that's twenty-four, injections of pain killers and cortisone in various places around his torso & upper body!Sad to think that NFL players can earn a 1-year suspension just for testing positive for marijuana a couple of times, during the off-season. Players who have been penalized for drugs go into a program where they must do urine test 3 times a week all year long - they are tested for pyscho-active drugs in the program, but not steroids, which actually gives players a competitive advantage that affects the outcome of the game (i.e., cheating). There have already been multiple instance of fatal liver and heart disease from ex-NFL players from steroid use, and many more to come in the future. 
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Comment #30 posted by SicknTired on February 02, 2002 at 10:02:26 PT:
Local News
My local news (NBC10 in Philadelphia) asks its viewers to send in story ideas. The following is my contribution. Feel free to copy, paraphrase etc if you'd like to help your local news report the truth.While the rest of the world is moving toward a harm reduction strategy concerning drug use, the US continues to waste 40 billion a year to try and enforce their vision of morality. Legal drugs, including alcohol and tobacco kill more than 500,000 Americans every year. Over the course of its recorded use (over 5000 years)There are 0 deaths assiociated with or caused by Cannabis. (Marijuana is a racist term comparable to firewater; the scientific name is Cannabis.) Stop pushing Ritalin patches and "Stay Awake" pills, and do a story on how prohibition has destoyed our cities with it inherent violence. How every day we hear of corruption in the ranks of law enforcement, because of prohibition. How 750,000 Americans were incarcerated last year on Cannabis charges, over 80% for possession. How everyday the media could make a difference in this situation, but continues to stay "on message". How cannabis was legal until 1937 when a campaign of lies and racism, initiated by William Randolph Hearst, played on the fears on an all white, uninformed government. Do a story on how the clinical trials of cannabis in Great Britain are going ( the press is hailing it as a "wonder drug" and we're locking up the sick and dying). How it is the most researched and safest theraputic substance known to man. Do a little research; may I suggest The Institute of Medicine Study (1997). Better yet...report on its findings
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Comment #29 posted by JSM on February 02, 2002 at 09:46:37 PT
Violence and drugs
Jose, you are correct. Somewhere I read where during the fifties either the house or senate was conducting hearings on marijuana and the biggest fear was that it would turn all users into pacificists. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in that; nonetheless, it is really scary to see why alcohol use is tolerated and in reality encouraged. This empire thrives on violence and anything contrary to that is the real threat. 
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Comment #28 posted by Jose Melendez on February 02, 2002 at 05:59:44 PT:
no pot, yes pain
"Painkillers are a quiet fact of life in the NFL"
Has anyone else noticed that basketball without marijuana is, well, like hockey? Remember those plastic beer bottles thrown into the football stadium a while back? I wonder if there are any studies that compare crowd violence on booze vs. pot...
Arrest Prohibition 
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Comment #27 posted by Jose Melendez on February 02, 2002 at 05:55:25 PT:
high time we do something about alcohol
Violent Dope Fiends a Myth: Another Study Finds Alcohol Most Linked
to Violence
A study quietly published in the Annual
Review of Sociology in 1998 drew new attention this week when the Prevention
File, a drug treatment and prevention industry journal, interviewed its
author, highlighting the study's conclusion that there is little evidence
that using illegal drugs causes violent behavior.
The study, conducted by researchers at
the Robert Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies at the University
of California at Riverside was based on a comprehensive review of the scientific
literature on drugs, alcohol and violence. "Despite a number of published
statements to the contrary, we find no significant evidence suggesting
that drug use is associated with violence," the study concluded.
The study examined four drugs commonly
associated with violence -- heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and PCP (phencyclidine). 
For heroin, the study found that any evidence of a link between the drug
and violence is "virtually nonexistent." The researchers found rare
cases of "toxic psychosis" associated with amphetamine abuse, but reported
that the association is more likely "situational" than pharmacological. 
For PCP, which has been widely portrayed as inciting users to violence,
the researchers found that that association was based primarily on case
studies of people with underlying mental problems. "Emotionally stable
people under the influence of PCP probably will not act in a way very different
from their normal behavior," the study said.
The strongest link between drug use and
violence was with cocaine, the researchers reported. Users sometimes
develop paranoia and irrational fears that could push them to violent acts,
the study noted. But Robert Nash Parker, the study's principal author,
told Prevention File that even that link is unclear. "The conclusions
of researchers whose findings support this idea universally highlight a
social rather than a pharmacological basis for the link," Parker said. 
He added that for any drug, the evidence suggests that the social environment
plays a greater role in causing violent behavior than pharmacological factors.
Based on its reading of the research and
its conversation with Parker, Prevention file noted bluntly, "alcohol outclasses
the array of illegal drugs as the substance most associated with violence." 
It cited an oft-quoted survey of crime victims that showed more than one-quarters
of assailants in violent crimes were under the influence of alcohol, while
less than 10% were using an illegal drug. According to the Presley
Center study, alcohol is "overwhelmingly" the drug most associated with
homicides.
"If you really want to have an effective
policy related to substance abuse, if you want to have fewer bad outcomes
in terms of health, welfare, and violence, the substance you want to focus
on is alcohol," said Parker. "The evidence is pretty powerful and
pretty convincing if someone is willing to look at it," he added.
Parker's research has caused him to reexamine
US drug policy, he told Prevention File. "I think the states are
taking a look at the kind of spending they've been engaging in for the
last 10 years or so," Parker said. "A lot of that spending has been
driven by the very unfortunate policies that emphasize putting drug offenders
away for relatively long periods of time. People are coming to see
that this has had very little impact in terms of reducing drug use, and
the cost is quite enormous."
Parker's report adds further weight to
the findings of previous research. For example, a 1994 "Research
in Brief" publication by the National Institute of Justice arrived at similar
conclusions:http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GovPubs/psycviol.htm
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #222, 2/1/02 
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Comment #26 posted by p4me on February 01, 2002 at 23:11:14 PT
commercials
I was thinking of the commercial I would run to oppose DEAth and their lies, stupidity, and helicopters. I was thinking about a man and a beautiful woman stranded on an isolated island. For the first week the man has incredible sex with the beautiful woman while his stash of weed holdds up. Then she cuts the little and not so good looking man off and he devises a plan to plant the seeds to get more ganja and in turn more sex. So he germinates his seeds in his cave and after a few weeks in the coconut shell the plants are ready for a permanent home.So he tells the beautiful woman about the lovely garden and all the happiness they can smoke as long as the bannana leaves last. So they go to the spot and stick one plant in the ground and hear comes the DEAth with helicopters, amphibious watercraft, and a contingent of special forces to arrest them both. The leason being that the DEA has exreme hatred for anything cannabis and there is no limit to the absurdity they will go to to "protect us."If anyone is interested in a short analysis of different strains, try this: http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mj008.htm
Run those commercials enough and the 5000 cannabis sites listed by Yahooka will just give up and shut down for lack of interest. Yes that is a lie, but at least I admit it.Vote against all incumbents and hurl on the Schedule One Lie.
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Comment #25 posted by SirReal on February 01, 2002 at 22:35:04 PT
B4daylight
I couldn't agree more with your post.The superbowl stands for violence, alcohol drinking, overeating and generally territorial war.We need to "send the right message" a cop or politician would say.....sheeeesh
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 01, 2002 at 21:58:56 PT
goneposthole
That was an excellent post. Thank you!
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Comment #23 posted by b4daylight on February 01, 2002 at 21:54:53 PT:
help
great posts !so is the goverment supporting activities
such as beer,violence,sex,gambling,prescription drug abuse
because indirectly they are supporting Football
football which has all listed aboveI do not watch TV! Too restrictive
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Comment #22 posted by goneposthole on February 01, 2002 at 21:05:03 PT
The power of the mind
Back in the fall of 1969 is when I first smoked a small amount of pot. Wheat grass papers rolled up the stuff, I felt pretty good after my first few tokes. Lots of years ago now, still kickin'.Been up and down the East coast, been up and down the west coast.I have held in my hands keys that opened every senators office door in the Dirksen Senate office building and the Old Senate office building. I had a pretty good job with the US Govt. It was a different time. Days gone by never to return.I was a vegetarian for three straight years and I weaned myself from ham, beef, eggs and dairy. I have fasted for 16 days on vegetable and fruit juices. I discovered how my mind can overcome the powerful urges of hunger. I gave it all up after I dreamt about eating a roast beef sandwich. I figured if I was going to dream about eating roast beef, then, by golly, I could eat roast beef in the real world, too. I came to the conclusion that my mind is definitely more powerful than the weak body that houses it. Vegetarianism was not for me, needless to say.The mind is a powerful tool, and the terrorists are using theirs to thrust their demands on others. they certainly know how to use their minds. To fly a jet into a building takes extreme concentration of a human mind.How to stop their progress and tame their actions, who knows? A tough chore indeed, seems as though killing them just knocks them down for now. We bomb them, blame others (drug users) for what they are able to accomplish. However the actions of some (corporate interests with the backing of militaries from governments around the world) have forced them to act in a way they have chose to pursue. Have we defeated them? Not hardly, it is their minds that must be reached. Once they have hardened their resolve, it is difficult to get them back.Donald Rumsfeld at a briefing with the press yesterday made the statement that the United States does not break treaties. I suppose it slipped his mind that a good number of treaties made with Native Americans were not kept. He needs a history lesson. His mind is with the here and now and manifests a weakness. The up-to-date terrorist has no time for such silly statements. They want the US gone. They see the inroads that they have made already and are not going to give up.  I wish they would for the sake of everybody on earth. Their minds are concentrated on annihilation, they dream about it and want to make it real.I heard a story about a soldier in Viet Nam that befriended an Orangutang in the jungles over there. He would share part of his lunch for a few days with him. One day the Orangutang wanted all of his lunch and the GI wasn't willing to do so. The next thing you know the guy was on the ground with the snot slapped out of him and his lunch stolen. The Orangutang got what he wanted. The Orangutang had it in his mind to get it all, and used his left and right to get it. His mind knew that his power could do it.A mind is a terrible thing to waste, a waste is a terrible thing to mind.The US govt has to let it go, this drug war and the wars on whatever, forget it, and quit wasting its time.
It all costs too much and is not worth it. They can put their minds to work on peace, that is worth it. The power of peace will show how powerful their minds can be. Strong economies, potent militaries and the like are not 'gonna' do it.
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Comment #21 posted by E_Johnson on February 01, 2002 at 19:54:19 PT
Shaq almost sued NBA for pain drugs
There was a story once in the LA Times about Shaq being angry about a kidney disease caused by the steroidal anti-inflammtories these guys are injected with to keep them earning money on the floor.The words class action suit against the NBA were being used.But I think they probably compromised because they seem to have been letting him try to avoid these drugs by sitting out games or wearing bigger shoes. He has arthritis in his toe. So when his toe is acting up, he sometimes doesn't play. But then sometimes he does get an injection and play. The knowledge of this has crept into the game in a subtle way. Did he or didn't he? Is he in tonight or out?And it's all aboput the dangerous drug they're giving these players to keep them playing at a level that makes a lot of money for the beer companies and the prohibitionist media.And this is the context in which marijuana is being cast as a dangerous shadow upon the whole concept of physical and mental fitness.Marijuana, containing the least dangerous non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs known to humankind.
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Comment #20 posted by potpal on February 01, 2002 at 19:40:46 PT
With a little luck...
With a lil' luck these ads will be framed by beer commercials on each side...;-) That would really be a joke!Sow every seed!
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Comment #19 posted by The GCW on February 01, 2002 at 19:04:04 PT
BOOMERANG
That's where we come in.       Helping insure the rang er boom.BOOM CHICA BOOM
BOOM CHICA BOOM
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Comment #18 posted by The GCW on February 01, 2002 at 18:54:43 PT
IT'S THE WAR STUPID!
Cannabis users do not support the government enforced prohibition laws creating the funding of terrorist. Cannabis users do not support the current governments price controls making the consumer pay more for cannabis than gold. No, it is the government that not just supports, but rather insists, on funding the terrorist.THEY ARE NOW ACTUALLY TRYING TO BLAME THIS ON CANNABIS USERS.i confess: he did it.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on February 01, 2002 at 18:37:28 PT
This anti drug ad
I watched them showing commercials on CNN or MSNBC today can't remember which channel and they mentioned the antidrug commercial and the woman from Forbes said it just didn't seem like the place to have a commercial like that. She shrugged. I think it will boomerang. We are not terrorists. Absolutely no way! 
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Comment #16 posted by millonmarijuanamarch on February 01, 2002 at 18:34:40 PT
What is up with our government
First of all why do they waste there time making laws that CAN NOT be enforced such as the marijuana prohibition law of 1937 second It dose NOT make any sense for the law to let you use the most addictive and deadly drugs such as Alcohol and Tobacco and make illegal a drug that is NOT addictive and has NEVER killed anybody such as marijuana. 
Marijuana prohibiton is based on lies and deceit. In countries that Marijuana is legal crime is way down and the police are able to spend there resorces on catching violent criminals instead of wasting there time with marijuana users. When is our government the american govenment going to wise up I hope it is soon I hate to see what can happen when the people loose all faith in there government. Look at the FORMER USSR look at what is hapening to our country 
it is a sin to lie and that is what our government is doing to the citizens of this country. P.S. If any other plant could do half the things that can be done with hemp it would be called gods plant.    
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Comment #15 posted by freedom fighter on February 01, 2002 at 18:20:10 PT
Dangerous Mix Signals
Kids will laugh at the ads and do drugs more..While like Sam Adams say, the non-users are promote to demonize the drug users as terrorists..The fuse is being lit up and are we ready to roll?ff
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Comment #14 posted by p4me on February 01, 2002 at 18:19:55 PT
What can you say?
It is a waste of money and stupid. Just what we need the government to do in front of adult America- waste money and show stupidity. The WOMJ is lost. The government says if we just retrench and spend more money people will do what we want. Afraid not. I am glad they are running the add though just to have the subject raised.One article said today that the DEA could rent helicopters for $650 an hour. $3,600,000.00 (that is a lot of zeroes) divided by $650 equals 5535 hours of helicopter time. Well, the faster the helicopter money runs out the better. Those DEA helicopters are raising the price of tomatoes and that affects everyone.All the motivational speakers say you must identify the problem before you can fix it. The biggest problem in the WOD is the Schedule One Lie that is used to keep sick people from using the best and most sensible medicine they can get. The SOL is one problem and lying about not lying about the SOL is just as bad. Vote Against All Incumbents and see how fast the lie will end. 
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Comment #13 posted by mayan on February 01, 2002 at 18:14:25 PT
Er...Uh...
That is, 8:05 A.M., 12:05 & 2:05 P.M.(ET)
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on February 01, 2002 at 18:12:03 PT
Off Topic...
The American Liberty Foundation(Founded by Harry Browne & Perry Willis) will be airing 3 ads tomorrow(Sat.) on CNN. This series deals with the right to bear arms. The approximate times are 8:05,12:05 & 2:05 A.M.(ET). Times are subject to change.see the ads:
http://hosting.netcommanders.net/americanlib/alfforms.asp?form=form2
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Comment #11 posted by CorvallisEric on February 01, 2002 at 18:05:10 PT
occasional users
The government's anti-drug media effort has three goals: ... (3) convincing occasional users to stop.
That's right, stop the non-abusers, like William Bennett wants. Then you get to parade lower survey numbers, without accomplishing anything useful since hard-core users of imported hard drugs don't listen. Total consumption (and the supposed terrorist connection) isn't affected. This happened with cocaine. Casual users way down. Total consumption little changed. Totally useless from their perspective, unless the real goal is to fill prisons.
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Comment #10 posted by goneposthole on February 01, 2002 at 17:44:24 PT
anti terrorist ads
If the government would run advertisements asking terrorists not to attack the US, do you think they ( the terrorists) might reconsider their future plans?It would be a hoot. Every single person on earth would see right through such foolhardy requests.The same with anti drug ads, they are a hoot. Everybody knows it.
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Comment #9 posted by Rainbow on February 01, 2002 at 17:03:38 PT
Food for a LTE to the editor
Who funded the terrorists? reallyThe drugs bought over here in the USA are not from the Middle East.The USA gave the Taliban 43 million dollars before the Sept 11th attack.So who is funding terrorists and training terrorists?Seems the AmeriKan government ought to refrain from throwing stones in a glass house.Cheers
Rainbow
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 01, 2002 at 16:31:57 PT
Drugs in the Superbowl
I didn't feel I should post this on the front page but I didn't know they could get pain killing injections before playing Football. It surprised me.Painkillers are a quiet fact of life in the NFL
Mike Freeman, New York Times  Friday, February 1, 2002 
New Orleans -- Kurt Warner's ribs remain the talk of the town. Warner, the St. Louis Rams' quarterback, says that the ribs he bruised in the playoffs against Green Bay are feeling better. But they are still quite sore, and there remains a possibility he will take a painkilling injection before playing against the New England Patriots Sunday in Super Bowl XXXVI. 
Complete Article -- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/01/SP92413.DTL
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Comment #7 posted by MikeEEEEE on February 01, 2002 at 16:08:09 PT
Will it backfire?
I spoke to somebody today about this ad who doesn't care either way about the WOD's, and he thought the idea was really stupid. In the past this administration has become more alienated around the world because of their policies, but this kind of drug warrior stupidity could now alienate them here.Kids again will laugh at another stupid propaganda ad, as they did with the frying plan commercial. 
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Comment #6 posted by boppy on February 01, 2002 at 15:51:04 PT
tobacco & alcohol are the feds drugs of choice
Yes, have a federally sanctioned cigarette instead or a federally sanctioned alcoholic beverage. If the feds want to set any example then let them say the same thing about tobacco and alcohol. Oh, wait...the congress members who are payed off by those particular lobbies might object to that. Any politician who supports the tobacco lobby has been payed off, pure and simple. Stop growing tobacco and grow something useful like hemp.  
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Comment #5 posted by Jose Melendez on February 01, 2002 at 15:19:25 PT:
and they wonder why...
The government has tried other methods of getting its anti-drug message out, and those efforts have run into flak as well.
...that is because they were demonstrably false. 
Arrest Prohibition - Drug War is TREASON
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 01, 2002 at 14:37:33 PT
I remember a funny ad
We had satellite tv when you could see them putting commercials together. I remember this cocaine commercial. You see a man in a suit in a room. He says as he walks faster in a circle around this room: I do coke to earn more money so I can buy more coke so I can work harder to earn more money to buy more coke etc. It was really funny.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on February 01, 2002 at 14:11:18 PT
I agree
I think these ads do more to marginalize the govt's position - aren't they pushing it just a little to far this time? Remember the frying-pan ads, which were laughed at for years by teenagers until the govt' realized they were being made fools of.Let's acknowledge the REAL reason for the ads though: it's to further demonize drug users in the eyes of non-users. The next few years will be interesting - I think a lot of it will depend on if Bush gets re-elected. Back in the 1930's, at some point, Germany realized that the rest of Europe was moving away from fascism, and decided to go against the flow and demonize Jews. As Europe and Canada and others continue to reform drug laws, will we eventually moderate our policies, or will we go even farther down the path of Nazi-like scapegoating and 1984-type policy? 
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Comment #2 posted by Elfman_420 on February 01, 2002 at 14:05:01 PT
these goals are weird
The government's anti-drug media effort has three goals: (1) to educate and enable kids to reject drugs; (2) to prevent kids from ever taking drugs, especially marijuana and inhalants, in the first place; and (3) convincing occasional users to stop.Wait a minute.. "especially marijuana and inhalants"
Neither of those have ANYTHING to do with terrorists. I think DarkStar is right. THe lost of trust with most AMERICANS will be irreparable.
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Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on February 01, 2002 at 13:29:49 PT
Is It Cost Effective?
This is a lot of money. How many drug users are likely to stop as a result of the ads? Can it possibly justify the expenditure? I think not. The loss of trust with youth will be irreparable. It is difficult enough to raise children these days without an increasing distrust of law enforcement and other authority figures. 
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