Study Indicates that Government Anti-Marijuana Ads Don’t Work

A new study suggests that the federal government’s $1 billion anti-marijuana campaign, which is targeted at young people, may be ineffective. The study, released this month by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication, found that teens who specifically said they were exposed to the ads were no less likely to use marijuana.

In fact, the study found evidence that the anti-drug campaign has had the reverse effect for some youth. Teens who recalled seeing 12 or more ads per month were more likely to start using marijuana than those who had seen fewer messages per month. Study authors think that youth who are repeatedly exposed to images of their peers using marijuana may assume that marijuana use is typical or normal.

The ad campaign was started in the late 1990s, as a project of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, supervised by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The campaign, which is designed to reach 12- to 18-year-olds, has been waged via television and movie theater commercials, websites, and other forums. According to the study, 94% of youth surveyed reported being exposed to these messages, at an average rate of two to three messages per week.

Tom Riley, spokesman for the ONDCP, countered the study’s conclusion by saying the ads included in the study ended four years ago and the campaign has evolved significantly since then. Riley points to a steady decline in youth marijuana use in recent years as proof of the campaign’s success. Study authors agree that there has been a decline in marijuana use by youth, but argue that they could not find evidence that the government’s campaign contributed to it.

Although the effectiveness of the government campaign is in question, a separate annual study has recorded a steady decline in marijuana use among youth between 1997 and 2007. The national Monitoring the Future Study found that since the late 1990s, marijuana use has fallen at least 20% among 7th, 8th, and 12th graders. (Source: ABC News)

Labels: marijuana

posted by Vee @ 10:28 AM