Pubdate: Thu, 11 May 2006
Source: Phoenix New Times (AZ)
Copyright: 2006 New Times, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/640
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n541/a01.html
Author: Kirk Muse

JUST SAY NO

See no evil: What works in Montana to deter our youth from using meth
should also work in Arizona. But it won't ("Meth Madness," Sarah
Fenske, April 27.

It won't work in Arizona because the people warning our youth about
the evils of meth are the same people who used lies and gross
exaggerations about the so-called evils of marijuana. Thus they have
lost their credibility.

Credibility is the most important aspect of persuasion. Once it is
gone, your ability to persuade is gone.

The biggest danger of anti-marijuana hype is that when children and
others find out that they have been lied to about marijuana, they then
make the logical assumption that all information about other drugs
like meth are either gross exaggerations or outright lies.

This is a recipe for disaster.

Kirk Muse, Mesa 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake