Feds Anti-Drug Commercials Increase Drug Use

[DeSwiss]

Finally, a goverment program that works! In reverse.

This Is Your Brain Wanting To Get High

The Government Accountability Office finally proved what we suspected all along: Those comical anti-drug commercials — which cost $1.2 billion in taxpayer money — just make kids want to smoke a bowl. According to the http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d06818high.pdf">(PDF) report:

The evaluation provides credible evidence that the campaign was not effective in reducing youth drug use, either during the entire period of the campaign <1998 to 2004> or during the period from 2002 to 2004 when the campaign was redirected and focused on marijuana use.

Notes anti-drug-war warrior Jacob Sullum,

“In fact, during some periods and for some subgroups, exposure to the ads was significantly associated with an increased tendency to smoke pot.”

http://www.wonkette.com/politics/gao/this-is-your-brain-wanting-to-get-high-197479.php

Yeah

[MADem]

1. The "frying egg" commercial of yore usually caused someone

to ask the question "Who's up for a trip to IHOP?"

[hobbit709]

4. I liked the poster

of the fried egg with bacon and toast on the side.:rofl: :rofl:

[Kutjara]

2. And this surprises whom exactly?

For decades, marketers of cigarettes, alcohol, fast cars and good times have linked these things with danger and risk. In the UK, a company sold "Death" brand cigarettes - in a black pack with white skull-and-crossbones on the front - until the government made them pull the product because it was actually increasing overall cigarette consumption. Humans like to do things that are 'bad' for them. Advertising about things that are 'bad' does little else than inform people who might not know, that there is some fun to be had. Armed with new knowledge, they'll head straight for it.

When authority says something is bad, that's usually sufficient for a lot of people to believe that it's good.

T'was ever thus. T'will ever be thus.

I could have told the Feds that for...oh...let's call it $200 million and saved them a cool two month's-worth of Iraq money.

[TheFriedPiper]

3. Outlawing ANY drug makes that drug MORE harmful

It was proven with the outlawing of alcohol.

It is proven every day since other hard drugs were outlawed.

Imagine the chaos in the streets if the most deadly drug around, nicotine, was to be made illegal.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Wasn't Necessary At All To Do This Study

While i'm certainly glad to see that the results were what i would have predicted, the simple fact is that it doesn't matter if it increased usage.

In fact, the DEA, the FBI, local law enforcement and the states have been issuing drug use numbers that are statistically flat on a per capita basis for the last 25 years. This means the whole expenditure of the "drug war" has been for nothing.

So, whether it went up or not, it has still been a colossal waste of money.
The Professor