NEW NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN KICKED OFF AT LOCAL SCHOOL

Everyone remembers the classic ad that compares a brain on drugs to a
frying egg.

Well, get ready for the sequel.

A sultry young woman standing in a kitchen places a raw egg on the counter
and explains that this is your brain on heroin. She swings a frying pan and
splatters the egg.

As broken egg drips from the pan, the woman explains that this is what your
body goes through. But that's not all. As she proceeds to demolish dishes
and kitchen appliances with the pan, she explains that this is what happens
to your family, your friends, your job, your self-respect and your future.

Abruptly the scene ends with her closing line: "Any questions?"

The new ad is part of a $195 million anti-drug media campaign that was
kicked off Thursday at Lanier Middle School by Barry McCaffrey, White House
drug policy director.

About 750 students, along with Mayor Lee Brown, Houston school
Superintendent Rod Paige, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D- Houston, and
others watched four videos that will be aired over the next three weeks in
Houston and 11 other cities.

The media campaign, which also includes radio and newspaper ads, will go
national in June.

"The heart and soul of what we are doing is talking to young people with
straight talk," McCaffrey said.

According to McCaffrey's office, about 30 percent of Houston's secondary
students report a lifetime use of marijuana while 14 percent reported use
in the past month.

Copyright 1998 Houston Chronicle