Above the Influence, Below My IQ Level

I don't watch a lot of television, but I have been watching the Winter X Games lately. I guess this is a youth-oriented sports event, and the advertising is dominated by Mountain Bell, Taco Bell, etc. In addition, the newest generation of government anti-drug ads are playing ad nauseum. I'm speaking of the Above the Influence ads.

I'll admit that I think most television advertisements are exceedingly stupid, but these ads are beyond the pale. If you are stupid enough to be influenced by these advertisements, then you really shouldn't be doing drugs. Actually, if you are influenced by these ads I wouldn't even trust you to wash my car. And if you aren't one of the bottom feeders that take cues from television, you will find the idiocy of these advertisements to be quite offensive.

One of these ads features a kid with his hand stuck in his mouth, while some stupid bitch tells us that his friends told him to smoke weed and then to stick his hand in his mouth. Now he can't get it out...

First of all, there is a somewhat simple law of biology that states: If you can put it in your mouth, you can take it out of your mouth. Are we supposed to believe that his mouth shrunk after he stuck his hand in it? Is that due to weed or something else? (Of course, somebody could argue that there is a "higher" level to this ad. His hand represents a marijuana cigarette, and once he puts it in his mouth it will never come out. But I probably wasted more brain cells making that connection than I would have smoking a joint. And I'd be a lot less pissed off right now.)

And then there's another ad where a girl has been smashed flat in order to show the literal effects of pressure. Peer pressure, that is. So, a conceptual idea has physically deformed her. Ummm, OK. Whatever. So, you shouldn't do drugs because the very concept of "peer pressure" will turn you into a midget, and you will probably end up putting something in your mouth that you can't take out.

Now, you may be wondering how much taxpayer money has been WASTED on these MORONIC advertisements. AdWeek says it is $120 Million. This is just a drop in the bucket when you look at the cost of the failed War on Drugs. We've already spent $4 Billion this year according to the WOD Clock. (An estimated $600 per second.)


I don't often agree with the House Republicans, but I certainly agree with one of their proposed budget cuts (to help offset the cost of Hurricane Katrina Recovery).

Eliminate the Federal Anti-Drug Advertising
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) runs a program to test print and broadcast advertising, purchase media time, and evaluate the effects of national media campaigns to discourage the use of illegal drugs among young people. The agency is required to solicit donations from nonfederal sources to pay part of the costs of the program. There is no solid evidence that media campaigns are effective in either preventing or reducing the use of illegal drugs. Savings: $1.3 billion over ten years ($631 million over five years)

I agree. It's time to abort all anti-drug advertisement. And it's time to decriminalize marijuana and focus on the dangerous drugs in this country: Heroin and Methamphetamine. And it's time to be honest and admit that most people who experiment with drugs do not become addicted and do not experience long term side effects. Of course, don't take my word for it. Just go ask Emperor Bush if his long-term abuse of cocaine and alcohol ruined his life...