DRUGS AT WAR - THE NEW AD CAMPAIGN

My daughter was staying with me for the summer when I found out she had
took up the addictive habit of smoking. She was twelve at the time and was
literally terrified by the notion of me telling her mother. Of course I
would never handle a situation this delicate by informing her hypocritical
Christian mother, and by letting her know that our relationship
strengthened. I didn't punish her, and by throwing the parental fear-factor
out the window she felt comfortable opening up to me about her smoking.

The first thing I decided to do was give her as much information as I could
on smoking. The second step I took was warn her of the consequences she
would face if her mother caught her. Third, and most importantly, I left
the decision of smoking up to her. Less than a year later she quit and her
mother never knew anything of the incident.

Allowing our children to make decisions on their own can have positive
outcomes; depending on the child and the manner it's handled. The worst
thing to do is lie, and that's exactly what caused the DEA's last ad
campaign against drugs to fail. Children and parents, like myself, who
smoke pot found the old commercials ridiculous, exaggerated, and more than
anything, nonfactual. The old refer madness technique with the crazed pot
smoker doesn't work any longer because most of us have tried pot or know
people who have used it.

So our DEA, with the help of our mighty tax dollars, has launched a new
campaign. One that started with a commercial during last years super bowl
that went for around $2,000,000 for a thirty second clip, followed by
another during the post-game show. These new commercials and ads are now
putting pressure on parents to influence their children against drug and
alcohol use.

It's a great idea, but the sad truth for most families today is that they
barely see their kids, much less have time to influence them. Strangely,
these commercials never show the real-life scenario of families working two
jobs or more just trying to make ends-meat so they can pay for these
commercials.

The DEA's affiliate site, www.mediacampaign.org , has over 160 new ads
presently running through out the country on television, radio and print,
mostly targeted at alcohol and marijuana. These ads are also ran in several
different languages, since there isn't any value placed on saving a youth's
life; unless it comes to medical coverage, then they're on their own.

Even though the ads may have changed some the message of lies and twisted
facts they present have not. On one ad it instructs parents to watch for
their children missing school, using incense, talking in slang, wearing
clothes that promote drugs, and even using mouthwash or breath mints to
detect possible habits. These are the same foolish and misleading
suggestion that my mother followed twenty years ago. The same ones that
never worked.

My daughter asked me about drinking and drugs not too long ago. I explained
that I felt the idea of laws to distinguish the legality of a drug and/or
establish an acceptable age to use it was an unachievable goal, especially
in this country today. I told her that it would be best to never use any
kind of drug, including legal ones. I also explained that responsibility is
the key to focus on in this confusing world, that addiction and
over-consumption of any product can be devastating on her life. And that's
what's most important to me.