Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jan 2003
Source: Michigan Daily (Ann Arbor, MI Edu)
Copyright: 2003 The Michigan Daily
Contact:  http://www.michigandaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/582

WEED-WHACKED

Ad Featured Poor Logic, Avoidance Of Other Issues

The Bush administration has a new message: Marijuana is the newest cause of 
teen pregnancy, joining the list of practically every other drug, notably 
alcohol. This is the simple message that the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy sent to Super Bowl viewers on Sunday. The ad showed a 
forty-something couple expecting the results from a pregnancy test and 
acting uncharacteristically distressed. As the subtitles read "they will be 
the youngest grandparents in town," the camera drifts to their teenage 
daughter, looking scared, upset and, of course, piously repentant.

Although the intentions of the pricy advertisement are noteworthy and the 
execution is arguably powerful for its purpose, it nonetheless falls short. 
Most importantly, the premise of the advertisement is flawed. It uses 
indirect reasoning to prove its point: marijuana impairs one's judgment, 
this impairment may induce sexual intercourse and this act of 
irresponsibility may cause pregnancy. Certainly, there is a logical flaw 
here, action A in this case does not necessarily cause result C - in fact, 
it rarely does. This indirect reasoning - the same logic used last year in 
similar ads connecting drug use to terrorism - reduces the strength of 
their argument because it is frequently fallible.

Yet, there is an even bigger issue here. The ad, knowingly or not, brings 
in other issues concerning abortion and sexual education. In President 
Bush's conservative, generally religious administration, the idea of 
abortion is clearly immoral. But by denouncing abortion, the administration 
creates its own problem, and thus the ad attempts to find causation for an 
unnecessary problem. A woman's right to choose should not be removed and 
were it not for threats from the Bush administration, many options could be 
available for families in similar scenarios.

Abortion, however, is not the only solution to the problem presented in the 
advertisement and most would agree that it is not the best either. 
Obviously, prevention will always be the key, and only through sexual 
education can a person prevent this situation. The current trend of 
"abstinence only education" denies reality and has proven to be 
ineffective. Once a person has made the personal decision to engage in 
sexual activities it is vital that they know how to be safe.

In this particular case, once judgment is impaired and intercourse is 
inevitable, the next best option must be protection. The administration's 
advocacy of abstinence-only programs has, in a sense, created this 
situation. The issue is a non-issue and it only exists because of the 
government's failure to consider all of the possible solutions.

Unfortunately, this ad tries to be about marijuana but should instead shift 
focus toward the Bush administration's capability. Its logical flaws raise 
questions about the connection between drugs and pregnancy and the problem 
it presents is easily solvable. 
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart