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New Anti-Drug Ad is Scary and Ironic

The Partnership at DrugFree.org has been putting out outrageous anti-drug propaganda for many years, but this latest spot takes us in a really strange direction…

This thing goes into overdrive instantly, and for a second I thought they were seriously suggesting smashing up your kids' stuff to keep them off drugs (unfortunately, it's only a short trip from the typical nuttiness one can expect from anti-drug zealots like these). But the conclusion reveals a more nuanced message, encouraging parents not to break their kids' crap with a bat, but rather to seek help from sources like DrugFree.org if you think your child is involved with drugs.

Now I would never recommend that anyone get drug information from DrugFree.org, as you could write several books on what those people don’t know about drugs (those books already exist, in fact), but I suppose I'd have to agree with the ad's central message that going apeshit with an aluminum baseball bat in your own driveway is a bad plan.

I find it amusing, however, that parents are now being warned not to overreact to their kids' drug use by the very same organization that's spend many years and many millions to convince parents to be scared senseless at the thought of their kids doing drugs. Parental panic is a product of the hysteria that's been spread by these very same people, and it's the height of irony that they now dramatize this legacy of confusion and fear in a peculiar attempt at self-promotion. I have a feeling it won't work so well.

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Scott, I think the

Scott, I think the admonitions "not to do what you want to do" are aimed at the kids as well as the parents. They are telling the children, "your parents, even if they don't act like it, want to scare the crap out you by throwing a violent temper tantrum and destroying your property". And in the larger sense, it's basically violently threatening kids to obey, even if they don't want to. If the cops raid your house it will be your godfather police breaking your stuff instead of your biological father. Familial violence is probably one of the most frightening things a child can experience--I see this ad as the skeletons coming out of the closet. Did you hear how high the kids voice squeaked out of fear? The makers of these commercials get off on frightening people, just like fire and brimstone preachers.

DEA! PUT THE BAT DOWN!

Right you are, I say...

"DEA!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  PUT THE BAT DOWN!"

"DEA!  THAT'S MY STUFF!  WHY ARE YOU TAKING IT?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

You know, DEA, sometimes what you want to do isn't the right thing to do...

Aaaahhhahaha that's true I

Aaaahhhahaha that's true I wonder how much it costs to put a commercial on tv I would put my own commercial right after theirs

Counterproductive

If your kids are going to do drugs, you as a parent should want them to talk to you about it! Alienating them with fear of how you'll react will only keep them at a distance. Their friends and peers will offer them drugs (and peer pressure WILL come into play). It's your job to EDUCATE them enough to make their own decisions. 

That kid probably takes ritalin every day... maye his mother's on xanax, and his father takes vicodin for his violent outbursts. Drugs are advertised on television; you can't flip through People magazine without seeing 3 or 4 pill ads. 

These things are influencing your child; this world is informing your child. You have failed as a parent if your child keeps secrets. You have failed as a parent if you wish to control their perspective: be a good influence - not an authority!

Anger is the solution? WTF

So they're saying it's okay to rage on the stuff that keeps your kid away from drugs? Wow. That's the most twisted and ludicrous crap I've ever seen.

My kid (17yo) got busted by

My kid (17yo) got busted by the popo after he and his friends smoked a little.  We were referred to a program called Chance For Change. Upon successful completion of the program the arrest would be wiped from his record as if it never happened.  We attended 2 days, 4 hours each day,  after paying the $150 program cost.  The kids and parents were separated into different rooms to tell our story of how it had affected us.  There were 10 people in my group.  When my turn came I told them how I felt smoking pot wasn't a big deal and the cost prohibition outweighed the benefit.  That I was in favor of decriminalization with restrictions similar to alcohol sales and consumption.  They looked at me in horror!! How dare I go against the grain of what has been shoveled in to our heads for a generation!!  Anyway, there were 3 steps for the kids to complete the program. Step 1 was to tell how it had adversely affected their lives. Step 2 was to write a paper about how they were going to change, what they were going to do to make that change, and how they were going to rectify the ruinous behavior that had affected everyone in the family. And the 3rd step was to draw a poster.  I'm not sure what the poster had to do with anything, but it was required.  It all seemed like the program was about humiliating the kids.  

 Another of the stipulations giving by the county was for my kid to attend 'treatment'.  Treatment cost $75 a session, had mandatory urine tests, and group therapy.  After a few sessions along with completing the other program, my son received his "certificate of Completion" from the county and I told him he didn't have to attend 'treatment' any longer.  All in all his small transgression against the State cost around $1300, with towing and storage fees for the vehicle, treatment, gas and missed work for me, and cost of the program. 

Eyes Wide Open

Until I read you comment, I never really considered the cost of these drug programs the city/county offers. This is a money making scheme, much like many other unnecessary fines and citations. Your comment has opened my eyes to many other possible areas that are generating revenue for the government and their position on drug use (prohibition).  

Very interesting...

Post all these comments on

Post all these comments on drug free.org it's not like brainwashed parents are going to see the truth here. That is a government web sight with televised adds more people will see the truth if you put it there, but the moderators are bias so make it not too truthfull lol

eerie reminder of cop attitude toward harm reduction equipment

Years ago, I was arrested for possession of cannabis and sat for a while in a police office where there were glasscovered cabinets containing pipes similar to the one-hitter which they confiscated from me.  Sorta like trophies, the head of a moose on the wall, etc.  This has been going on for years-- they confiscate and destroy ALTERNATIVES TO ROLLING A JOINT which is of course what the TAX (BRIBE) PAYING $igarette companies want, because a joint is something that teaches children to think in terms of cigarette smoking.  (And, Americans, if you don't know it already, in Europe a "joint" is commonly laced with tobacco to help get you hooked on nicotine.  Read the "Toke Pure" section on the UK Cannabis Internet Activists website!)

Well, the scare warnings against cannabis from "drug-free" and other agencies for years have aimed to turn parents into "in loco policiae" volunteer cops who are to examine their kid's room and, finding any "evidence" of cannabis *("drug") use, destroy it and PUNISH  and WARN and RESTRICT etc., sending as above noted the message that you better ROLL A JOINT which is easier to hide.  Philip Morris (which sends lobbyist Bruce Gates to schmooze with John Boehner) will thank them.

"...in Europe a "joint" is

"...in Europe a "joint" is commonly laced with tobacco to help get you hooked on nicotine."

 

That's not really accurate. First of all, that's a dutch thing. A few do it in other European countries, but not very many. Secondly...have you ever smoked a doober laced with tobacco? Pretty enjoyable, actually. The combination of the THC and Nicotine goes really well - that's why cigarette smokers always light up after toking. Additionally, you don't have to roll them in a paper - I mix mine in my bowl when I do this. Also, you use a lot less pot when you mix the two.

Dad needs some cannabis

Wow! The father in the video is in need for some anger management. I understand that they are suggesting that he should not act out violently, but it makes you wonder if the father's violent and destructive behavior is the reason why his child using drugs in the first place, on many different levels. Too bad we can't require people to take parenting classes before their biological copies are born.

This video is more of a comment on our degrading civil demeanor. Drug use, as a means of escape, is a symptom of a poor social construct. The Partnership should focus on the cause, but then I am pretty sure that the members of the "Partnership" are part of the problem and not the solution.

The father may want to use cannabis as a sleep aid so that he can be well rested and better prepared to deal with life's unexpected issues.

Government-sanctioned evil

Someone ought to make a video starring a drunk mother arguing with a chain-smoking father. The kid comes home from school, hears the fighting, goes upstairs, drops a bag of weed on the nightstand, goes back downstairs and sits just out of view, eavesdropping.

The mom screams about the dad blowing his paycheck at the dog track, demanding to know how the rent will be paid and did he at least stop and get her Jim Beam, or did he spend that money too?

The kid, wiping tears away, goes upstairs, packs his bong, and lights up. After a few seconds, he relaxes and smiles.

The tagline at the bottom?

"Sometimes your kids don't want to follow in your footsteps."

 

The end.

YES. THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

YES. THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

A waste of time, lives and money

According to the Drug War Clock over 27.5 billion dollars has been spent on, "The War On Drugs" so far this year. Give me about ten minutes and I can probably get you just about anything you want. Give me an hour and I can probably get it by the pound. It's not much different then going down and filling up your gas tank and leaving your car idling in the driveway till it runs out. I'm so sick of seeing victimless "criminals" going to jail while criminals who rob, beat, steel and kill walk away with half the time of that of someone who is getting high in their own home, effecting no one.

treatment

For cannabis is a scam,period.That discussion was the best part of this whole thing.Very few cannabis smokers need treatment of ANY kind.Forced treatment ,it has been proven time and time again,is the least likely to take and has become an integral part of the whole drug war philosophy.It's better than going to prison but is the most abused and abusive part of the drug war.It's another source of the funding and lobby effort to keep drugs illegal and people in the system.It says it gives a choice but it is really no choice at all.No one wants to go to prison.

Profiteers profiteers profiteers

If anyone thinks treatment is gonna stop someone from, "using" that hasn't made that decision for themselves and on their own is probably someone who has a stake in the war on drugs. After two plus years of forced classes, theropy and rehab, I sure as hell didn't stop. But one of the things I noticed about problem users is they tend to have low morals. And if anyone who has attended any classes, treatment or rehab, they might have noticed they are taught by addicts who had problems with their addiction, who had low morals, who stole to get what they needed... Can you see where I'm going with this?

Partnership of Pushers

Let us not forget that the primary source of revenue for drugfree.org and their propaganda is the cigarette companies, the association of distilleries and big pharma, all of whom would lose out on business if there was any change in drug policy.

 

This latest propaganda campaign is almost as crazy as the concept of a drug free America. I recently watched a documentry on the drug war. After a segment on drug war propaganda it broke for commercial which was Larry the Cable Guy hawking Prilosec OTC or something. I thought I was still watching the documentry until a non drug commercial came on. 

 

How many more years, dollars and lives before we stop the madness?

No wonder the kid uses drugs!

No wonder the kid uses drugs!

the idiocy is unparalleled in

the idiocy is unparalleled in this commercial. vehemently exemplifying the irrationality of the drug war.

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