What's your anti-drug? Mine is not wearing any pants, but this article isn't about me. It's about you and drugs. Ever since you were little mommy told you it was bad to smoke the dope, that Coke was only a drink and ecstasy comes via religion, not neon soaked raves. While I could argue Coke - the drink - may be in fact a drug, I may just keep hush since I've noticed they own quite the percentage of vending machines on campus…drugs are very real, and despite the emphasis on ignorance, whether self-perpetuated or subconscious, our parents would love to continue us to have well into our late thirties (wishful thinking), we eventually come into contact with the little devils. Many have fallen prey to drug tendencies in youth, and many have had these choices affect them later in life. Adolescence is the prime time for external influence, and teenagers are easily persuaded and deeply susceptible to rebellious behavior. What better rebellion than drugs? Others have wondrous experience while under the influence of drugs (some, however, are not so lucky), and do it not for rebellion but for the sake of physical high. So where do anti-drug PSAs come into this?
You've seen them. My anti-drug is soccer, fashion, family, David Hasselhoff. There's even one where there's a talking dog. You've seen that one right?
The dog says he misses seeing his owner around, and that she's different, and they are not best friends anymore. The message in the end is against weed. I will let you know, however, that if this dog is indeed talking to that girl, she is not smoking weed. She is smoking something much stronger. Another anti-weed commercial (this one unavailable on the youtubby, sorry folks) comes in the vignette form showing several teenagers smiling, with elevator music, as they describe what weed has done for them: I left my girlfriend 27 messages, I let people draw on me, I ditched my friends and let them find their own way home. In the end, it asks what has weed done for you? The funny thing they don't mention is that most of these things happen when college students do another drug, which happens to be called alcohol. Another funny thing is that while alcohol causes 3,500 deaths per year, all those drinkers under 21, they continually do not air ads discussing the dangers of alcohol but rather focus persecuting weed. Why? It's rather simple. Alcohol is a business. Businesses can be sponsors. They can also front lobbyists. Both groups exercise control and intense influence over society and, government. Who are the CEOS of Weed, Inc. and Cocaine Co.?
So are anti-drug commercials effective, or even anti-drug programs? Lots of us young things grew up with an anti-drug program called D.A.R.E, the people who told us to "just say no." In 2003, the General Accounting Office (GAO) published a report citing "no statistically significant long-term effect on preventing youth illicit drug use" and "no significant difference…to peer pressure." Various other studies at the University of Kentucky, University of Colorado and University of Illinois proved that most D.A.R.E graduates receive absolutely no effect from the program. D.A.R.E's total "costs of officers' training and participation," as well as providing facilities and other miscellaneous expenditures, according to assessment by Le Moyne College in New York, comes out at around $600 million. In the end, anti-drug programs and commercials have good intentions, but at this much cost, for ineffective programs and well…talking dogs and Rachel Leigh Cook with a frying pan…in this economy, can we afford it? Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
