Speaking of liars

While composing my previous post I stumbled upon "The Best Anti-Pot Campaign Ever." I figured that a campaign that Slate gave an A rating would at least be somewhat interesting, funny or true to life. But it is the same stupid nonsense that even the most stoned teenager is going to laugh at. I can't figure out how to embed the video so I am just going to post a link to the Slate article. Here it is and here is the description of the video as posted on Slate:

A cartoon guy and gal are hanging out in a crudely drawn landscape. The guy puffs on a joint and exhales a jet of smoke. "Not again," says the disappointed girl. Suddenly, a UFO descends from the sky. A small alien emerges and walks over to the couple. The guy politely offers the alien a toke, but the creature declines—and at this, the girl swoons. We see the alien and the girl fly off together in the spaceship, leaving the jilted stoner alone with his thoughts.

Hmmm, females are passive and need to be rescued by strong, handsome aliens. I know what I do when I am hanging around with my friends and they want to get stoned while I have better or more interesting things to do: I leave. Just what we need is the government reinforcing stupid stereotypes.

"It's easy to do ads about drugs like heroin and meth, and the awful consequences that manifest," says Tom Riley, director of public affairs at the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "It's harder to make ads about marijuana. 'Marijuana's gonna melt your face off' isn't really a credible thing to say to teens."

It's great when the ONDCP admits in so many words that the truth is interfering in their anti-drug campaigns.

The second ad was just as stupid. We have a pot-smoker being chastized by his dog to stop smoking. When the pothead decides to "Wait 'til next week", the dog expresses his disappointment. Here is Stevenson raving about the greatness of the ad:

Of all the legitimate fears that gnaw at the average marijuana user, two of the more troubling are 1) the fear that nonsmoker friends, or lovers, might find them tiresome and pathetic, and 2) the fear that they might be growing dependent on the drug. This campaign effectively picks at both of these insecurities. Just as important (when it comes to reaching too-cool teens), it does so in a low-key, unembellished manner.

The only legitimate fears a pot-smoker has are getting busted or failing a drug test. If your friends judge you for choosing a far safer recreatonal substance than alcohol or tobacco, you need new friends.

Re-do the ad but replace marijuana with other addictive substances like potato chips, chocolate bars, take-out food and candy. See if your ad still seems brilliant.

I expected a lot better from Slate than cheerleading the drug warriors while they waste more money on pointless anti-drug ads. This is especially infuriating when you consider that it comes from a supposed former pot smoker. Thanks a lot, Uncle Tom.