Pubdate: Sat, 25 May 2002
Source: Parkersburg News, The (WV)
Copyright: 2002, The Parkersburg News
Contact:  http://www.newsandsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1648
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

DIRECTNESS OF REAGAN-ERA ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN JUST THE TONIC TODAY'S KIDS NEED

This week the federal government finally admitted what has been evident 
from teen drug-use statistics in recent years: The feds' $180 
million-a-year campaign against illegal drug use is a flop. More precisely, 
the program has failed to have any discernable impact on teen drug abuse 
ever since the campaign abandoned the moral clarity of "Just Say No."

Sophisticates claim that today's teens are of, as The Associated Press put 
it, "a generation too complex for 'Just Say No.' " Really? We'll grant that 
a campaign such as that one can get stale after a while, but "Just Say No" 
worked and was still working when the first Bush administration decided to 
erase all things Reagan from policy, including the "Just Say No" campaign, 
in the name of being "kinder and gentler."

When it comes to educating kids about dangerous, illegal drugs, however, 
direct and harsh evidently works better.

In a world full of moral mushiness, kids absolutely need the clarity of "No."

Instead of wasting tens of millions more developing an entirely new 
anti-drug ad campaign, the feds ought to resurrect and refresh "Just Say No."

It worked before and it just might work again on a generation of kids who 
weren't even talking yet when the original campaign ended.
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