Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Drugs Drugs Drugs!

Check out this early 90's pro-drug/anti-drug PSA which teaches kids that some drugs are good and some drugs are bad. Presumably the good ones are the ones their parents keep in the medicine cabinet and the bad ones are the ones their parents keep in the sock drawer (most likely in a discreet pouch they purchased at a Grateful Dead concert)...


I wonder if the lasting impact of this ad has anything to do with the drastic increase in prescription drug abuse we've seen over the last few years?

Now excuse me while I go take a Prozac, a couple Ritalin, and an Oxycontin, and dance around while singing about drugs.

2 comments:

Rebecca Ogle said...

... That's really frightening. I think I'd be the four-year-old who randomly burst into tears after watching that. "Aww, it's okay, honey! They're nice propaganda people. They won't hurt you."

JT Barrie said...

Actually I state in my book that it's the right thing to take cold or flu medication if you are staying home and resting; it's not the right thing if you are driving a semi through windy roads from Philomath to the Oregon Coast. And yes, the legal ones actually give recommended dosages and warn you about what the drug actually does - or can do to you.

The illegal ones are the ones made by amateurs with no disclosure - because of course, criminals are already in deep doo doo and can't really be sued. Well they can if the plaintiff wants to confess to breaking the law. Still, the best response to someone pressuring you to use illegal drugs is as follows: Sorry, but I'll wait until the legisliars pull their heads out of where ever they keep their heads and make these drugs legally available, made by pros and with full disclosure.
An easy way to sidetrack a shouting match with a hard core "lockem up" type of guy who rails about "dangerous drugs": just ask a simple question: give me one positive effect of the current drug policy? Unless he/she answers: "it sure has locked up a lot of bad guys" you can remind them that both the number of addicts and potency of drugs has risen steadily under the Drug War and there were no studies ever done prior to banning any drug.