Pubdate: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 Source: Charleston Gazette (WV) Copyright: 2003 Charleston Gazette Contact: http://www.wvgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77 Author: Gregory J. Campbell Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?195 (Partnership for a Drug Free America) ANTI-DRUG ADS A WASTE OF MONEY Editor: The full-page ads being distributed by the White House's anti-drug office are a striking example of government waste. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has a $150 million advertising budget for this fiscal year - more than all other federal agencies' ad budgets combined - that it spends on ads that even they admit don't work. For instance, the ads claim that more teen-agers seek treatment for marijuana than for all other drugs combined. This statement, while true, is disingenuous at best: According to U.S. government statistics, most teens in treatment for "marijuana abuse" are not in treatment because they were found to be addicted, but because they were arrested and given a choice of treatment or jail. All of the recent growth in teen marijuana treatment admissions has been driven by the criminal justice system. What the ads ignore is the fact that marijuana prohibition - not the drug itself - poses the greatest risk to teens (and adults). Under prohibition, even "youthful indiscretions" with marijuana can lead to loss of student financial aid, exclusion from participation in extracurricular activities, termination of employment, and, of course, incarceration and a criminal record. Gregory J. Campbell, Charleston - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl