I didn’t assume you were any specific age, emacularius. I know several, if not many, people my age that have children/are pregnant.
I see your logic insofar as not being overly obsessed about one thing or another. But you can’t deny that drugs can and will cause accidents (automotive for a personal–not meaning myself-- example). One accident could very well affect your daughter; just by living she is in danger. But that is no reason to ignore a problem completely. You may need no help worrying about your child, but I’d bet most other people don’t really care when they are out having fun. They aren’t thinking of you.
You say legalize pot but restrict it from underage/driving/etc. persons? I know people my age (extending to several years younger) that use alcohol, weed, and some heavier drugs without giving a rats ass about the legality of it. I personally, though, don’t have a problem with it being legalized. But legalizing it won’t improve responsiblity on anyone’s part.
That commercial was directed, I gather from context, at someone my age. The drug problem might be blown out of proportion, but it is a problem none the less. This commercial won’t serve to harm anything, if it has even the slightest chance of succeeding in its aim, it is worth it.
If this same commercial had been directed at underage drinking, would you have had a problem with it?
Teach children to be critical thinkers instead of sheeple (that commercial appeals to sheeple).
Be more aggressive about using harm-reduction programs that help break the cycle of destitution that feeds ongoing, existing addiction.
Intervene in impoverished communities with programs that provide disadvantaged kids a “leg up”, i.e, breakfast programs, extra tutoring, community gardens.
Stop glamorizing drug use by putting stars’ rehab stays on the covers of tabloids.
Bring actual recovered addicts into classrooms to show people the non-preachy reality of addiction.
Give incentives (such as jobs) to people who graduate from addiction treatment programs.
Drug use/addiction are not a problem, they are a symptom. “Street” drugs are just as much a medication as tylenol - they just medicate something different.
This “sanctimonious bullshit” isn’t addressing the real problem.
Have you met most people? People are sheepish…appeal to them.
*Drug (and alcohol, ect.) use doesn’t stop at the poverty line.
*I agree that drugs are glamorized, but the tabloids can do what they please. They are tabloids, they sensationalize.
*That’s a good plan if people would go for it. A well off community might not dig on the local druggie visiting the preschool class.
*Woah. Nice. Idealistic. I won’t mention bush’s economy and the lack of jobs for those who graduate college.
All these are good plans. But, a)those take outside effort, whereas the sponsor of this commercial did everything. and b)that isn’t enough, every little bit may (or may not) help.
Absolutely. Unfortunately, it’s my experience that 80%+ of folks who might see these ads are “sheeple”. Sadly, most of the world are not the sort of people who hang out here. So, again, if there’s a group at least trying to get people off drugs, I’m all for it.
Actually, I’ve come across the random Internet opinion that kids should be ENCOURAGED to try drugs at least once, to defuse their curiosity and to expose them to substances that might actually help them along in life, by allowing them to relax (in the same way, say, sports or reading does - and after all, many banned substances, like peyote, are used for religious or spiritual reasons).
Hey, if that’s true, maybe any anti-drug campaign at all is doing more harm than good…
The one with the kid in the drive thru annoys the shit out of me because what kind of parents let their kids ride their bikes through fast food drive thrus?
HELLO, people, kid on bike should not be there! That kid was what-five? Shee-it, talk about stupid parents.
Something else I’m (genuinely) curious about: how arbitrary, or sound, is the inclination to draw lines between various types of drugs, as in “marijuana is harmless, while illegal drug X is not”? In other words, if marijuana is legalized, is there any logical, sound reason not to legalize everything else, from black tar heroin to Ecstacy to PCP?
I don’t keep up much on medical matters, so I am curious…
In that kids defense, that is about all I wanted to do when I was five or six. Pull up in sonic on my bmx…no better way to pick up chicks. I wouldn’t attribute that to parental neglect. More of kid will power and determination.
I agree with **spooje[b/]. What unnerves me about those commercials is that by focusing on marijuana, they are making other drugs, like alcohol in particular, seem less dangerous.
There is one commercial with two crash test dummies in a car, and the voice over says (something like): ‘In a roadside study, more than 1/3 of people that had accidents were found to have marijuana in there system’. What they don’t mention is how many of those people (also) had alcohol in their systems, or who participated in the study.
Of course pot is dangerous; as is any drug. It’s possible that I could take too much of my prescribed drug for medication and be so wiry that I have an accident. The commercials aren’t effective because they’re so hyperbolic - they focus on severe, sensational possible outcomes, and by ignoring other drugs(often more dangerous, especially as far as drivers are concerned) the point is lost.
Marijuana is less addictive than nicotine or alchohol. It’s also alot safer when taken in correctly (clean filters, vaporization). The propaganda of it being “3 times as bad as ciggarettes” is bullshit based upon lousy rolling papers and tainted marijuana.
In a study about people who drove while under the influence of marijuanaa, I believe the group was around 2500 people, they were as or less likely to be in an accident, and tended to go slower than those who were sober.
Marijuana is a harmless drug, there are no physically addictive properties to it (barring extreme circumstances) and no long term effects have been proven.
If you want people to get off drugs, campaign against ciggarettes and alchohol, marijuana is the least of your worries.
But they won’t, Q.E.D., and that’s the point. There are plenty of things wrong with smoking marijuana, but when you vilify it so over the top as in the PSA’s the OP is bitching about it loses all meaning. When the anti-drug side looks so out of touch with reality, they hurt there own cause. The ads won’t save a soul, because kids won’t listen to this bullshit. Kids can spot bullshit the same way you or I can.
Anti-pot PSA’s will only work if they deal with the actual effect of pot. Preach about how lazy it makes people. The reefer madness redux is absurd.
The best commercial was when the kids saying ‘Drugs don’t harm me’ as he was tossing a baseball in his glove. Then he pulled a Roger McDowell.
Roger McDowell was a pitcher for the Mets. In a game he was relieving, a batter grounded into a fielder’s choice in which the batter was safe on first. The first baseman tossed the ball back to McDowell, who in frustration pounded the ball into his glove. He missed the glove, and time wasn’t called. The alert third baseman had to dive to prevent the runner on third from scoring.
The best commercial was when the kid was saying ‘Drugs don’t harm me’ as he was tossing a baseball in his glove. Then he pulled a Roger McDowell.
Roger McDowell was a pitcher for the Mets. In a game he was relieving, a batter grounded into a fielder’s choice in which the batter was safe on first. The first baseman tossed the ball back to McDowell, who in frustration pounded the ball into his glove. He missed the glove, and time wasn’t called. The alert third baseman had to dive to prevent the runner on third from scoring.
Interesting. If this is true, then probably all the comments about these ads not getting people to give up drugs are missing the point: they’re not targetted at hardcore users, or even casual users. They’re targetted at the large number of non-users who might be starting to think that pot doesn’t really turn people into slobbering, baby-eating demons and may be considering voting ‘yes’ on the next legalization vote.
What’s really bothering me are the implications of 2trew’s discovery:
When you smoke pot, God kills a child.
When you masturbate, God kills a kitten.
Instead of pulling probablies out of your ass, you could have just checked their official website. This media campaign is the brainchild of the ONDCP and every damn one of us is paying for it.
And, of course, when they vilify marijuana to extremes so ridiculous that kids can see right through them, that might make them think twice about how bad heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines are.
Then there’s the issue of procurement. Alcohol and tobacco have age restrictions. Of course, some resourceful kids will find ways to get around them, but at least it’s one line of protection. Drug dealers never ask for I.D.
There have been several studies done on marijuana and driving. Studies of actual accidents from both the U.S. NHTSA and the Australians have shown that cannabis users are actually slightly less likely to cause accidents than sober drivers. These are hard, reliable, irrefutable numbers. See this thread for more information on the issue and multiple cites.
You mean like all those high-profile NBA stars who have been busted for possession or tested for postive for marijuana? How about the MLB players? Or that Olympic medal-winning Canadian snowboarder?
A much more likely theory, one which The Master Cecil himself supports, is that pot happens to be the drug of choice for many people who are naturally lazy.
You see what I did there? I addressed each drug individually, and decided based on what I know about their effects, wether they should be legalized or not. 'Cause, see, they’re all unique in their effects and their dangers.
No worries. If it ever happens, it won’t be your fault. It’ll be mine, and my kid’s. No one elses.
That’s a mighty big “if” there.
The ads are supposed to shock people; to get them to think. You can’t do that with puppy dogs and teddy bears.
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Actually, the ads aren’t supposed to make people think, they’re supposed to make people afraid. If they start thinking, they might realize that the War on Some Drugs is a criminal waste of our time and money, and a consistent erroder of our civil rights and liberties.
Well, it is not physically possible to ingest enough marijuana to trigger a fatal overdose. I don’t know about tobacco, but that’s certainly not the same for alcohol.
Actually, I’m not aware of that. I’ve seen one or two ads about Ecstasy, but from what I’ve seen, marijuana ads are more numerous and more frequently shown by a considerable margin. I don’t recall the last heroin ad I’ve seen (Calvin Klein ads excepted), and I’m fairly certain I’ve never seen an anti-PCP ad. Or an anti-psilocybin ad, which is weird, because it’s such a common drug. Not that I want to see one, of course.
I like your style of quoting (not even getting a full sentence), neutron star. I even used the word “probably,” indicating that it may or may not have been true.
The Full Quote: “Concerning the use of “our tax money” on “this bull shit:” that commercial was probably funded by private organizations or grants for specifically this purpose (if you have a problem with governmental grants for such things, you should consider this while voting for your congressmen).”
