cannabisnews.com: More Deception in U.S. Drug War





More Deception in U.S. Drug War
Posted by FoM on February 06, 2002 at 09:44:36 PT
By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Source: CBS.MarketWatch.com
Bad enough that Ogilvy & Mather came back, like a dumped lover on Jerry Springer, to take another shot at the federal anti-drug account. But the unit of London-based WPP Group canned by Uncle Sam last year for padding timesheets -- just can't resist lending its considerable talents to furthering the latest Big Lie of a campaign that has been marked by deception from its very beginning.Having failed abysmally with past prevarications, including a laughably unscientific "marijuana is a gateway drug" approach, the War on Drugs has decided to get fashionable and tie itself to the War on Terror. 
In two Ogilvy-created spots that broke Sunday during News Corp.'s Fox broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVI, the Office of National Drug Control Policy launched what it describes as "a new initiative to educate Americans about the link between illicit drug use in the United States and acts of terror around the world."Along with various propaganda efforts aimed at parents, teachers and even Hollywood screenwriters, the ads are designed to convince Americans that they help terrorists every time they smoke, snort or shoot their favorite mind-altering substance. They also attempt to mock the unpatriotic concept that people have a right to control what they put into their bodies as long they do not harm anyone else.Getting the ads shown during the big game cost U.S. taxpayers somewhere north of $3 million. That's something of a bargain, actually, for which we can thank an economy sluggish enough to knock down the cost of TV's priciest commercial time. And, for what they are, they are done well. So much for the good news. This latest approach is dishonest not so much by what it says but by what is left out. No question that various violent psychopaths benefit from drug trade proceeds. Neglected in the campaign is the that the same killers also garner their share of loot from the sale of other commodities -- food, fuel, luxury goods and weapons -- that are produced, consumed or trafficked through areas or by people under their control. Are Americans subsidizing terror when they fill their gas tanks? How about when we buy an Afghan rug? Or wear jewelry with lapis lazuli? Even worse is the complete disregard for history, both contemporary and recent. It was not that long ago that federal funds were diverted, legally and/or extra-legally, to Central America and into the pockets of people who supplemented their budgets with drug money. And just last year, we gave the Taliban a $43 million bonus toward its efforts to eradicate the cultivation of opium poppies (making the Super Bowl ad buy look even more like a steal). That program, once bizarrely described as an exercise in "consensus-building" by a State Department official, turned out to be as short-lived as Mullah Omar and his nutjob pals.The poppies are blooming again, often through the good offices of some of the same fighters we rightfully assisted in overthrowing the Taliban. Does their heroin support terrorism, or is it OK because they are the good guys? And how do we tell which smack is which? Inquiring veins want to know.Curiously, in the official press release on the campaign there is only one illicit drug specifically mentioned. Is it heroin from al Qaeda? Cocaine, courtesy of the Shining Path? Nope. According to one of ONDCP's tame experts, the ads are expected to "stimulate conversations among teens and generate positive peer pressure against marijuana...."Nice. William Spain is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago. Note: Commentary: New anti-drug spots just the latest Big Lie. Source: CBS.MarketWatch.comAuthor: William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.comPublished: February 6, 2002 Copyright: 1997-2002 MarketWatch.com, Inc. Website: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/Feedback: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/support/feedback.aspRelated Articles:Debating The Drug Ads http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11925.shtmlWhite House Anti-Drug Ads Super Bowloney http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11919.shtmlAnti-Drug Media Blitz Plays on Terror Fear http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11917.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on February 06, 2002 at 18:31:48 PT
Hooray for CBS
Apparently not all of the media have gone brain dead or become intimidated by the guard dogs of government access.From this spark a flame will burn?If only critical thinking were contagious.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on February 06, 2002 at 14:21:45 PT
Taxpayer Funded Propaganda
I have yet to hear anything positive about this ad campaign - even from the mainstream! It IS making the ONDCP look very foolish & desperate though. This ploy to demonize marijuana users is simply a waste of taxpayers money & will certainly backfire. The U.S. Government lost it's credibility a long time ago, so why should anyone believe their propaganda now? If it is aimed at young people it won't work because the younger generation is very hip to this topic!
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Comment #2 posted by TroutMask on February 06, 2002 at 11:17:13 PT
Yes, Mainstream Media!
Doh! Robbie, I was just going to post how great it is that this is coming from CBS.MarketWatch.com!-TM
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Comment #1 posted by Robbie on February 06, 2002 at 10:43:49 PT
mainstream media?
It's nice to see such a slam given out through CBS Market Watch.And hoping that people associate marijuana use with support of terrorism is really a pip. There is a large pool of evidence that marijuana used in the US comes from the US, Canada, or Mexico. These people get more lame by the minute...and it's only costing us $3.5 million! Wonderful.
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