cannabisnews.com: Anti-Drug Campaign










  Anti-Drug Campaign

Posted by FoM on December 12, 2000 at 10:42:55 PT
Editorial 
Source: Winston-Salem Journal  

In an innovative marketing campaign, the federal government has spoken directly to young people through the media they pay attention to, asking them what keeps them away from illegal drugs. The nation ought to listen to what the youngsters are saying.The imaginative four-month-long advertising campaign has been run by Barry McCaffrey, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and paid for by Congress. 
This year’s campaign is part of a five-year, $185 million-a-year national anti-drug multimedia effort targeted at youth.Ads in various media including TV programs that appeal to youth have asked youngsters to describe what things in their lives help them avoid drugs. More than 25,000 children replied, two-thirds of them through the Internet and the rest through old-fashioned mail. Some sent in one word; others wrote essays or poems, drew pictures or sent photosMusic came in No. 1 on the list of things children credit with keeping them away from drugs. Family was second, followed by sports.The government’s campaign has taken the responses and used them as material for new ads featuring some of the children who responded to the '`What’s Your Anti-Drug?’‘ question. One that has aired on television already is titled '`Dancing.’‘The ad campaign is cleverly using real kids in hopes that what they have to say will mean more to their peers than exhortations from adults. It also is creating ads targeted at adults — '`Love: The Anti-Drug’‘ and '`Communication: The Anti-Drug’‘ — to emphasize their role.The importance of listening to what young people have to say extends beyond this marketing campaign. The frequency and passion with which many of them talk about the role of music and sports in their lives is a strong argument for supporting arts and athletics programs in schools and community organizations. Youngsters who get caught up in band or soccer or volleyball or a variety of activities that give their lives structure and meaning are less likely to be tempted by drugs.It’s also a welcome eye-opener to learn that families came in a strong second on the list of effective '`anti-drugs.’‘ Parents dealing with adolescent rebellion often feel that their children aren’t paying attention to them. The response to this ad campaign suggests that children may be listening more than they let on.News from the anti-drug campaign is heartening. According to McCaffrey, a 1999 survey by the Department of Health and Human Services says that 72 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have not tried illegal drugs. Opening lines of communication with youths may help even more of them find their '`anti-drug.’‘ Source: Winston-Salem Journal (NC)Published: December 12, 2000Copyright: Piedmont Publishing Co. Inc.Contact: letters w-s-journal.comWebsite: http://www.journalnow.com/Related Articles:US May Be Overbilled in Drug Campaign http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7983.shtmlDrug Czar Attacked on Media Campaignhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7258.shtmlWhite House Holds Back Payment To Ad Agencyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7207.shtmlPropaganda for Dollars http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4317.shtml

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Comment #20 posted by Rambler on April 25, 2001 at 22:02:09 PT
Hope for kids
I feel sorry for anyones kids.If people dont wakeup to the reality of what is happening to our freedomin the name of drugs,then the future of living in a freeAmerica is doomed.If people dont wake up to rejectingthe corporate cancerrous tumor,that is spreading throughoutthe body of our democracy,then all kids will be growing up inan evil empire of greed and oppression.If you want to have hope for your kids,then you better takea closer look at what's going on here.Marijuana prohibition is idiotic and unjustifiable.
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Comment #19 posted by observer on April 25, 2001 at 21:23:45 PT
Prohibition Has Failed
well... you should see the beautiful result of pot in my self admittedly addicted stepson. or many teens i know and chat with.  I hope you never have kids.Let's see now, marijuana possession and use is punished more harshly than ever; 700,000 people arrested for marijuana last year, 85% of those on possession charges. But the "many teens" you know still have access to it, huh?Looks like trying to use the bodies of responsible adults who use marijuana as a prohibition messaging system -- incarcerating adults for the "crime" of taking marijuana (to "send a message to the kids", of course) -- isn't working, it it? (To "send a message" I recommend the mail, not jail for people who take marijuana.)see:Drug Prohibition Has Failed (David Boaz, 1997)http://www.cato.org/dailys/3-03-97.html :``Prohibition had begun in 1920 amid high hopes. Evangelist Billy Sunday proclaimed, "The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent." ''What a dupe Billy Sunday was. Godly man? Perhaps. Well-meaning? Maybe. But a dangerous dupe, nonetheless. Sadly, modern prohibitionists follow his example.re: "Anti-drug Campaign"(The editorial writers just can't bring themselves to say "propaganda campaign" here, can they? We can help them.)see:Propaganda & The War On Drugs, Susan Bryce, New Dawn Mag., 1999 http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n711/a10.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n712.a01.html 
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Comment #18 posted by ecdysis on April 25, 2001 at 20:53:44 PT
hope you never have kids
well... you should see the beautiful result of pot in my self admittedly addicted stepson. or many teens i know and chat with. I hope you never have kids.
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Comment #17 posted by Lehder on December 14, 2000 at 16:38:50 PT
hatred of culture
is characteristic of totalitarian movements."When I hear the word 'culture', I pull back the safety catch of my revolver."  --Hans Johst, WWII Nazi
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Comment #16 posted by Lehder on December 14, 2000 at 15:51:13 PT
$185 Million anti-Culture Campaign
It degrades music to say "it keeps me off drugs", and the person who says so degrades himself by trivializing his own interest and appreciation of music. Is this the purpose of music - to keep us off drugs? The ignorant enemies of civilization who power this war would also make Sports, Family, Dance and even Love subservient to their ideology.It is the drug warriors' contempt for civilization and culture that offends me more than any other aspect of their war.
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Comment #15 posted by dddd on December 13, 2000 at 17:48:57 PT
I agree FreedomFighter
 Whoever came up with this abstract bullshit campaign;"my music keeps me away from drugs",is full of CRAP! It's about like saying,"the reason I am not tempted to have sex before I get married,is because of my music". The Beatles would have never happened without drugs!....Hendrix would have never gone beyond giggin' with some tavern swing band in Seattle,if it wasn't for drug,(then again,he might still be alive).Elvis was pumped up,and deflated with pharmaceuticals......George Jones,and Hank Williams swam their way into being legends,in a sea of alcohol.....Mega legends like The Cream,and The Rolling Stones would be factory workers and ditch diggers if it wasnt for drugs.....Like many things in life,drugs can be wonderful,and dreadful,depending on how things happen....Let's not forget that cars,are more deadly than drugs,,but they dont make drugs with airbags.But to see these sickening ads,and articles with some fake kid ,saying music helps him avoid drugs,really turns my stomach...I also barf when I hear a classic Hendrix theme,on a Hyundai TV commercial.....dddd
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Comment #14 posted by freedom fighter on December 13, 2000 at 17:12:06 PT
Someone is fooling around!
Kids says Music stop them from doing drugs.Oh really?Probably the greatest hoax the america kids have done to this poor government. Imagine a 12 yr old kid toking a pipe, listening to listening to some techno beats thought of an answer to the most vexing question that the government have. "I do'nt do drugs when I listen to my music!"Someone is fooling around and the JOKE is on you!
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Comment #13 posted by MikeEEEEE on December 12, 2000 at 18:36:06 PT
Right!
Winston-Salem journal=big tobacco=vested interestYou're right, these guys will never learn!
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Comment #12 posted by nl5x on December 12, 2000 at 17:17:06 PT
Propaganda 
Winston-Salem journal=big tobacco=vested interestNote: I did a search for medical marijuana on their site and got 0 results.I next did a search on marijuana and got 19 hits, 98% of which were negative.Propaganda works: see poll below A Standard of Care: Defining Child Abuse: This is the second of a two-part series on child abuse.According to the county's survey, 69 percent said they did not believe that a newborn should go home with a mother who tests positive for marijuana at the time of the child's birth. Even more -- 90 percent -- supported the same statement if the mother tested positive for cocaine use.http://www.journalnow.com/projects/abuse/define2.htmjack herer:hemp medicine was found effective as a wound healer, muscle relaxant, pain reliever, fever reducer andan unparalleled aid to childbirth, not to mention hundreds of other medicinal applicationshttp://www.jackherer.com/INDEX.HTM#chapters
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Comment #11 posted by nl5x on December 12, 2000 at 16:52:42 PT
Propaganda 
Winston-Salem journal=big tobacco=vested interestNote: I did a search for medical marijuana on their site and got 0 results.I next did a search on marijuana and got 19 hits, 98% of which were negative.Propaganda works: see poll belowHeadline A Standard of Care: Defining Child Abuse: This is the second of a two-part series on child abuse.According to the county's survey, 69 percent said they did not believe that a newborn should go home with a mother who tests positive for marijuana at the time of the child's birth. Even more -- 90 percent -- supported the same statement if the mother tested positive for cocaine use.http://www.journalnow.com/projects/abuse/define2.htmhttp://www.journalnow.com/search?NS-search-page=results
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 12, 2000 at 16:16:21 PT
Frank Zappa, Lawrence Welk, Pat Boone
I'm movin' to Montana soon to raise me up a crop of Dental floss.I never could figure out what in the world he was talking about! Maybe he should have partaken more! I'm only kidding! Does Cathy Lee sing? I'm really out of touch.
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Comment #9 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 12, 2000 at 15:54:32 PT
Anti-Drug Superstar
>>I'll add this! All the music I like the musicians were probably high when they made it. Think about it? What famous musician didn't write or perform under the influence of some substance. I really can't think of any.  Frank Zappa is quoted as saying he tried pot about ten times and never felt a thing. He was on TV, and he continued, "If I had liked it, I probably would have continued, as I like to smoke," as he gestured with a cigarette in hand. And look what an effective tool Frank Zappa was in fighting congressional censorship in the 1980s... Frank was very against recreational pleasure drugs, but also against prohibition. "If you want to kill yourself, go ahead." Probably not the best argument when it comes to medical marijuana, but he's definitely the most creative sober musical talent I can think of. Other than that, though, there's not many.
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Comment #8 posted by legalizeit on December 12, 2000 at 13:46:20 PT
What the hell is an Anti-Drug anyway?
Sounds like like an Anti-Christ or something. Which doesn't sound too far off for the Bizarro!Forget the Anti-Drug...where's the Anti-Fascist, the Anti-IncrediblyHypocriticalVestedInterestPolitician and the Anti-CorruptCop?
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Comment #7 posted by dddd on December 12, 2000 at 13:31:53 PT
stoned
 Even Bach copped a buzz 
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Comment #6 posted by Morgan on December 12, 2000 at 12:26:14 PT
Famous Musicians
Pat Boone, Lawrence Welk, Cathy Lee Gifford, um.... that's all I can think of.***********************************************************
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 12, 2000 at 11:45:03 PT

My 2 cents

I'll add this! All the music I like the musicians were probably high when they made it. Think about it? What famous musician didn't write or perform under the influence of some substance. I really can't think of any.
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Comment #4 posted by defenderoffreeworld on December 12, 2000 at 11:24:13 PT:

ha, i was thinking the same thing as john

what's better after a rough day of work to go back to your place, take a nice shower, and put on your favorite musical artist, (in my case, it ranges from bob marley to classic rock: cream, led zepellin, beatles, rolling stones), sit back, and slowly pull out the rollies and the good good erb, start crumbling, take a sip of the cool drink, and have an incredibly relaxing time? see, but if the anti-drug 'warriors' would be reading this, they'd be like 'see, this is what i'm talking about, look at this druggie, he should be in jail'
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Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on December 12, 2000 at 11:06:20 PT:

Propaganda

The government is missing the key points. Some people need "drugs" to heal what ails them. When it comes from a pharmacy, it's called a prescription, when it is from a plant, it's called herbal medicine.   If only a fraction of the budget of the WoD's were applied to meaningful education that turned kids onto learning, and gave them intellectual curiousity, it would be money well spent unlike this massive hemorrhage now that merely fans the flames. A few of these educated kids might follow their interests instead of turning to drugs for entertainment.   However, given prohibition, and the havoc it wreaks, we have total urban blight, and a drug economy that is seductive to users and law enforcement corruption. The Feds will never win with current policy. It is only when drugs are taken out of the black market and the profit margin disappears that the problems will be manageable.
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 12, 2000 at 10:53:10 PT

Music IS the drug

  Winston-Salem journal, eh? Hmm. I'd say that's an unbiased source, right?  I say the number one thing keeping these kids away from illegal substances is the small-minded NARCS like the ones in Strawberry Fields last week. If the substances weren't illegal, we wouldn't even be here, right?  What's keeping these kids away from booze, tobacco, caffeine and ritalin?
http://www.marijuana.com/
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Comment #1 posted by John on December 12, 2000 at 10:48:38 PT

Music stoned.

"Music came in No. 1 on the list of things children credit with keeping them away from drugs."Thats wierd, music is one of the biggest reasons I do drugs.
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