cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar to Educate Parents About Marijuana Use Drug Czar to Educate Parents About Marijuana Use Posted by CN Staff on March 10, 2003 at 07:24:14 PT Press Release Source: U.S. Newswire The nation's leaders in health, education, and safety are continuing an effort to educate parents about the serious risks of teen marijuana use. Together with White House Drug Czar John Walters, seven national organizations have signed onto a new "Open Letter" that gives parents specific facts about marijuana's health and social consequences for teens. Starting today, the letter will run in more than 300 newspapers nationwide. The letter, part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, warns about lung damage, physical and mental health consequences, and risky behaviors linked to youth marijuana use. Signatories include the American Medical Association, the American Lung Association, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Automobile Association, the National Education Association, and the National Crime Prevention Council. "We're speaking directly to parents about the specific ways marijuana can damage a young person's future," said John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy. "Marijuana is riskier than many parents think. Smoking marijuana hurts young bodies and minds, and more young people are in treatment for marijuana than for all other illicit drugs combined." According to the American Psychiatric Association, marijuana use may trigger panic attacks, paranoia and even psychoses, especially if users are suffering from anxiety, depression, or having thinking problems. "Smoking marijuana can injure or destroy lung tissue. Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more of some cancer causing chemicals than does tobacco smoke," said John L. Kirkwood, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. "Teens who are high on marijuana are less able to make safe, smart decisions about sex - including saying no," said Sarah Brown, Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "Teens who have used marijuana are four times more likely to get pregnant or get someone pregnant than teens who haven't." Research shows that teens listen to their parents when it comes to decisions about drug use. Two-thirds of youth ages 13-17 say fear of losing their parents' respect is one of the main reasons they don't smoke marijuana or use other drugs. What parents do and say matters. Parents can help keep their kids drug-free by asking questions and staying involved in their childrens' lives. More information about the effects of marijuana use and its signs and symptoms, as well as advice for parents on keeping kids drug-free, can be found on ONDCP's Media Campaign Web site for parents at: http://www.theantidrug.com Parents can also call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-788-2800 for free resources. Information for youth about marijuana can be found by visiting: http://www.freevibe.comThe new ad is a follow up to an "Open Letter to Parents About Marijuana" that ran in newspapers last September and was signed by 17 leading public health, parenting and drug prevention groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National PTA, and the American College of Emergency Physicians. The ads are one part of the largest and most comprehensive initiative ever undertaken to prevent youth marijuana use. More kids use marijuana than cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and all other illicit drugs combined. While marijuana use has declined slightly in the last year, the number of 8th graders who used the drug doubled between 1991 and 2001 from one in ten to one in five. In 1998, with the bipartisan support of Congress and the President, ONDCP created the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, an effort designed to educate and empower youth to reject illicit drugs. Counting on an unprecedented blend of public and private partnerships, non-profit community service organizations, volunteerism, and youth-to-youth communications, the Campaign is designed to reach Americans of diverse backgrounds wherever they live, learn, work, play, and practice their faith. For more information on the ONDCP National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign visit: http://www.mediacampaign.org -- http://www.freevibe.com or http://www.theantidrug.comContact: Jennifer de Vallance, 202-395-6618, or Erika Batcheller, 202-828-882Complete Title: Health, Education, Safety Experts Join White House Drug Czar to Educate Parents About Risks of Youth Marijuana Use Source: U.S. NewswirePublished: Monday, March 10, 2003Copyright 2003 U.S. Newswire Contact: info usnewswire.comWebsite: http://www.usnewswire.com/ Related Articles:Truth in Advertisinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15682.shtmlFeds Waste Money On Ads http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15672.shtmlAnti-Drug Messages Clouded in Smoke? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15588.shtmlAnti-Pot Ads Deceive Youthhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15587.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #19 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on March 11, 2003 at 13:24:39 PT By this definition of "Educate"... ...you could say the Mafia are only "educating" those poor business owners about the risks of not buying protection insurance [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on March 11, 2003 at 13:22:08 PT Hmmm So if kids are at risk of more pregnancies, how does that correlate to the propaganda that cannabis is supposed to INHIBIT healthy sperm counts and fertility?Whoops...we're not supposed to ask too many questions, I guess [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by The GCW on March 11, 2003 at 03:42:50 PT Kids should not be using cannabis but that is no reason to put adults in a cage that use cannabis.I am far more worried about My kids even looking at cigs. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 10, 2003 at 22:13:03 PT Marijuana Policy Project Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 10, 2003 MPP Challenges Drug Czar on New Anti-Marijuana Ads Will Run Contrasting Newspaper Ad; Satellite News Feed Available March 10WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is aggressively challenging a new newspaper ad being run by the office of White House "Drug Czar" John Walters in 300 U.S. newspapers March 10. MPP will run a contrasting ad in selected papers and is also making available a video news release in which MPP Executive Director Robert Kampia discusses the misleading and dishonest nature of Walters' anti-marijuana advertising blitz. "The drug czar's ads aren't about educating teens; they're about frightening parents into keeping marijuana illegal and avoiding the real issue. The real issue is that marijuana is bad for kids, but marijuana prohibition is worse," Kampia said. "John Walters pours millions of dollars of taxpayer money -- $150 million in the new fiscal year -- into deceptive anti-marijuana ads that we know aren't working and may actually be doing harm." The government-funded independent evaluation of the campaign, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, found "there is no evidence yet consistent with a desirable effect of the Campaign on youth." More disturbing, the long-term evaluation of the teens who most frequently saw the early ads found that they had more "pro-drug" beliefs than teens who saw the commercials less often. "It doesn't surprise anyone that the drug czar's ads aren't working," Kampia continued. "Kids are laughing at these ads -- they know when they're being lied to. A campaign of obvious lies and distortions doesn't discourage kids from trying marijuana and sabotages efforts to educate them about the life-threatening risks of speed or crack. "The drug czar's latest ad takes scary-sounding information out of context, ignores conflicting data, and blurs the lines between common marijuana effects and extremely rare ones. This ad is a disservice to parents, who need complete, honest information." For MPP's response ad, click here: http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/ads/index.htmlA satellite feed featuring sound bites from Robert Kampia and marijuana arrest B-roll footage will be available on Monday, March 10, from 2:30 - 2:45 p.m. Eastern and again from 3:15 - 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Satellite coordinates are KU Analog: SBS 6, Transponder 5, downlink frequency 11823 Horizontal. Audio is on 6.2 and 6.8. For technical assistance, call The Washington Bureau at 202-347-6396. The independent evaluation of the drug czar's ads is available here. 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. Marijuana Policy Project Press Release [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 10, 2003 at 20:02:31 PT MPP's Challenge Ad MPP's new ad gives the real facts about marijuana -- and the harm that prohibition causes. You can see the press release announcing this ad here.http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/ads/index.html(you must have Adobe Acrobat installed if you would like to view the ad in the PDF format - download Acrobat 5.0 now)Marijuana is Bad for Teens; Marijuana Prohibition is Worse Download the PDF version: http://www.mpp.org/pdf/ad.pdf"We want him out of the picture. We want him excommunicated from the federal government forever."-- MPP's Rob Kampia in a worldwide Reuters article on December 5, 2002 [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by jsklimpz on March 10, 2003 at 17:54:09 PT: Want em gone? Impeach them! http://www.votetoimpeach.org go here and vote and then spread the word!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on March 10, 2003 at 14:41:12 PT AAA Unlike most of those mentioned in this article, the American Automobile Association is something that many activists are probably members of. They should get in touch with their AAA rep. and express outrage over this "education". AAA should know better, and they deserve to lose customers until they learn. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by i420 on March 10, 2003 at 12:37:53 PT I HATE JOHN WALTERS.COM I HATE JOHN WALTERS.COM I HATE JOHN WALTERS.COM [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Morgan on March 10, 2003 at 12:24:31 PT Blah What I find most fascinating is that after all these years of pot propaganda, they are still at it, and still expecting people to buy it. And there will always be those that do. But they are getting fewer and fewer everyday. Personally, when I start to read one of these articles, the words quickly morph into "... John Walters said that blah blah blah blah."Hey, for all I know there may be some truth in these words somewhere. But I just don't have the energy to find them anymore. Years of lies will do that to you. I'm sure people in Soviet Russia had the same affliction."The Agriculture Commissar said today that blahski, blahski, blahski..."John, we've stopped listening to you. It's time you started listening to us.But then, I'm sure he doesn't care, as this latest salvo of propaganda is meant for the ears of his corporate masters...not us, the taxpayers, who he pretends to work for. (Look guys, I'm doing what you wanted, and I'm using the taxpayer's money too boot. Heh heh heh. Pay up.")Those of us old enough have seen this all before, and we have also seen the inevitable outcome. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by afterburner on March 10, 2003 at 11:20:13 PT: Alcohol vs. Cannabis, a Big Money Battle. Loretta Nall said her views on marijuana were shaped, in part, by her brother's experience. An alcoholic, Randy Sapp, 35, has been in and out of jail for alcohol-fueled crimes. "For work release, they put him to loading Budweiser trucks," Nall said. That didn't work out so well. Sapp, back home in Ashland, is frank about his addictions. "If marijuana was legal, I would never pick up another drop of alcohol," he said. -from "Marijuana Advocate Vocal After Arrest" http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1047291444205141.xmlI know several alcoholics who would benefit from liberated cannabis, so that they would have a heathier alternative to the alcohol that is harming their lives. How many more must die?ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by pokesmotter on March 10, 2003 at 10:44:23 PT: john tyler excellent point. to me, sarcasm is a great way of expressing one's self. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by John Tyler on March 10, 2003 at 10:29:02 PT help for married couples? "Teens who have used marijuana are four times more likely to get pregnant...". Could this then be helpful for married couples who have difficulity conceiving? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 10, 2003 at 10:27:03 PT druid Alcohol causes brain and liver damage, just to name a few. In large amounts it's very toxic, and could kill. Besides being toxic, its users are loud and aggressive. I'm not up on the neurological effects, such as receptors, neurons, etc. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by malleus2 on March 10, 2003 at 09:36:41 PT Advice from Walters on cannabis is like having a celibate Catholic priest lecture you about having a healthy sex life; it has about the same authority. That is to say, none.Billions for BS, yet not one penny for extended unemployment benefits or prescription drug coverage. Any wonder why so many countries around the world are LAUGHING at us? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 10, 2003 at 09:04:59 PT druid I'm not sure but my mom was diagnosed years ago with alcohol dementia. I believe it can cause brain damage but that is only from my seeing what it did to my mother. She didn't live very long after the diagnosis.http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=alcoholic+dementia&r=3 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Virgil on March 10, 2003 at 08:57:59 PT Monomaniacal I tell you This well-funded organized effort by fronts for fascist organizations in the pill and alcohol industry and others and a rich dude named Mr. Taxpayer are totally an outrageous and monomaniacal attempt to drown out the harms of prohibition itself. If the government were concerned about harm to citizens they could take the harm and exclude the benefit of cannabis and multiply it by a hundred and they would still be low in estimating the harm.Talk about insanity. The WOD is insanity on steroids. Here is Walter's brain on insanity steroids. Get the picture? This is another example of a sea of silence broken by media on insanity steroids.I sometimes wonder what the major papers were printing in the last days of alcohol prohibition. I do believe the seniors are about to address the issue as health care, the doublespeak for no health care, is about to boil over. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by druid on March 10, 2003 at 08:54:02 PT alcohol Actually I don't think alcohol does kill brain cells. It just saturates them with alcohol. I will have to look it up to be sure but I think that is what happens when someone gets a "wet brain". Too many brain cells have been saturated with alcohol and the person thinks and acts and talks like they are drunk all the time.but somebody set me straight if I am wrong about this. thanks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 10, 2003 at 08:40:00 PT Propaganda Media Bliz At a time of recession and deficits these guys continue to waste money on propaganda: all in an effort to come off as caring about our children."marijuana use may trigger panic attacks, paranoia and even psychoses, especially if users are suffering from anxiety, depression, or having thinking problems."People that already have psychological problems exhibit these symptoms. The basic rule should be, don't give psycho-reactive drugs to people with psychological problems, alcohol included. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by pokesmotter on March 10, 2003 at 07:36:26 PT: this is ridiculous Smoking marijuana hurts young bodies and minds, and more "young people are in treatment for marijuana than for all other illicit drugs combined." those arguments sound new and fresh!"Smoking marijuana can injure or destroy lung tissue."well duh smoking cigarrettes does too; alcohol kills brain cells.i could sit here all day and argue each of the points of the article.walters is a dumass (pronounced doo-mas) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment