DON'T SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM

Day One Protests Snoop's 'Smoke-Out Session'

Michael Browning wants to save your kids.

Not from the dangers of crack or felony child molesters, but something he
believes is far worse.

FM Radio Station Power 106.

"Our biggest issue is with the host of the show," Browning said. "He
invites listeners to get high with him, then asks them to call in to win a
box of cigars that can be used to (smoke marijuana). That's more insidious
than the music, which is awful in itself."

Browning, 36, heads the Pasadena-based Day One anti-drug and alcohol
organization. Browning and more than 50 demonstrators peacefully picketed
the Burbank-based station Saturday to protest the "Smoke-out Session," a
popular show hosted weekly by rap icon Snoop Dogg that's since been taken
off the air.

Val Maki, vice president and general manager of Power 106, said she
respected Day One's right to protest, even if it was pointless considering
Snoop's departure from the airwaves.

"(Day One) has a great deal of resources that can be good for us," Maki
explained. "Sometimes what we do with public service organizations is have
people come in with expertise."

Maki, 38, also said that position isn't a payoff since the station offers
the same deal to other community-based organizations that discourage drug use.

Still, Browning claimed Power's efforts were woefully inadequate when it
came to curbing illegal drug use.

"Just the fact that the (Smoke-out Session) is on is the shocking thing
about the whole situation," he said.

"Power 106 is allowing such messages to go over the public airwaves. Power
106 is the station of choice for most young people."

During the Smoke-out Session, taped prior to broadcast, Snoop Dogg alludes
to smoking weed on the show and refers to advertiser commercial slots as
"chronic breaks."

Maki said Power 106 doesn't condone or encourage the use of illegal drugs.

"You can't always speak for the lifestyles of the people who make the
music," she said.

Nevertheless, you can reach the kids who buy it.

Maki said Power 106 broadcasts anti-drug commercials and much of the $1.5
million controlled by "Knowledge Is Power," the station's nonprofit
organization, is used to discourage underage drinking and smoking.

Power's good-neighbor policies have become so successful it was recently
presented with the "Service to America" award by the National Association
of Broadcasters, a 75-year-old organization made up of thousands of radio
and TV stations nationwide. Only four stations receive the award annually.

But that doesn't impress Day One.

"We decided to do it now because we've gained momentum," Browning said,
when asked why he didn't protest in February, when the show initially
aired. "(We) believed that we needed to take a stand and take a position
publicly on this issue."

The protesters, however, would've been better off conserving their energy.
Business conflicts forced management at Power 106 to cancel the Smoke-out
Session show long before Day One's demonstration.

"The show has been syndicated," Maki explained. "They needed a longer time
slot and clear spots within the show that would've allowed them to
broadcast commercials from national advertisers during the show. We didn't
come to terms doing the economics on it."