Suetaz

'Dickhead' ads to turn kids off pot
June 20, 2004 | The Age


A bold advertising campaign that aims to wipe out marijuana's reputation as a "soft" drug will hit NSW cinemas this week.

The latest phase in the state government's cannabis awareness program was launched to screen before movies throughout the school holidays.

The advertisements, which will also be displayed in cinema bathrooms, bus shelters and on buses, highlight adverse health effects, physical dangers and social impacts of using the drug.

One includes the ad-line: "Pot. It mightn't kill you. But it could turn you into a dickhead."

NSW Special Minister of State John Della Bosca said the ads were aimed squarely at young people to show cannabis was not a "soft" or "recreational" drug.

"Cannabis is not harmless," Mr Della Bosca said in a statement.

"It can cause significant health and social problems and we need to get that message to young people in ways they can relate to and in places where they go."

A key message in the series is that cannabis affects driving ability.

"Young people need to be aware that driving when affected not only puts their own lives at risk, but the lives of those around them," he said.

Similar advertisements aimed at parents of teenagers will air on community radio stations in eight languages.

The campaign is the latest phase of a $495,000 program which Mr Della Bosca describes as "unashamedly forthright".

It follows on from the "loser" poster series launched last January and a radio series on a user called Johnny which aired last June.

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Greenbud

The same things can be said of alcohol yet it is legal and acceptable in society. However, alcohol just might kill you. Considering that Australia has a reputation for being a "land where beer does flow" I think they should concentrate on campaigning harder against underage drinking.

Well, I have to admit, it's not exactly the fanatical "Reefer Madness" as practiced by the US Government, but it's still pretty biased. I guess since there really aren't that many negative side effects of pot, they have to sensationalize the few there are to get their "message" across.

I'd like to see an "unashamedly factual" ad campaign describing the good points about marijuana to counter it. Those folks would definately need bigger posters, buses and more airtime than the "Dickhead" bunch.

Apparently those ad campaigns didn't work and neither will this one. Just another side order of Aussie government pork.

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"I believe in the near future, the government will use anti-drug hysteria to set up a police state."
-author William S. Burroughs, 1947

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Suetaz

How about telling lies about marijauna could expose YOU for being a dickhead, dickhead! I can't believe they actually said that! How about alcohol, it might kill you and it might turn you into a dickhead?!

xxdr_zombiexx

"Pot. It mightn't kill you. But it could turn you into a dickhead."

Very doubtful, but if you substutitute "Drug Czar" for "pot" the odds are much, much higher of this undesirable change.

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Torture Good, Healthcare Bad, Marijuana Evil.

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel

Logos

Ironically, they mention driving, one of the three studies done that I'm aware of regarding the effects of marijuana on driving originates from Australia, and it's conclusion was that slight intoxication actually made one a safer driver than someone not under the influence of anything. As the intoxication level goes up, the driving skills go down. Not an endorsement for driving under the influence, science is science afterall...

You can tell this waste of taxpayer dollars was based on all of the available research...

Logos

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The more I learn, the less I know. | Truth doesn't change, only our perception of it does.
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smoking_joe_lee

How about, 'alcohol, first it turns you into a dick head then you crash, burn, and die.'
Although this has little to do with the story, how would anyone like to go through life with a name like that of the former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle?