Between 1998 and 2004 the federal government spent over $1.4 billion dollars producing and airing anti-drug ads aimed at teens.
A nearly five-year-long, $47 million investigation -- carefully reviewed by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- found that the program failed to reduce teen drug use.
Worse, "greater exposure to the campaign was associated with weaker anti-drug norms and increases in the perceptions that others use marijuana." After seeing the ads, non-marijuana-using teens were actually more likely to try the drug!
That's a spectacular failure by any standards. And how does the government reward failure?
With more money, of course. President Bush has proposed a huge increase -- a "surge," one is tempted to say -- in funding for the ad program: a 31 percent increase that would raise the budget to $130 million.
A nearly five-year-long, $47 million investigation -- carefully reviewed by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- found that the program failed to reduce teen drug use.
Worse, "greater exposure to the campaign was associated with weaker anti-drug norms and increases in the perceptions that others use marijuana." After seeing the ads, non-marijuana-using teens were actually more likely to try the drug!
That's a spectacular failure by any standards. And how does the government reward failure?
With more money, of course. President Bush has proposed a huge increase -- a "surge," one is tempted to say -- in funding for the ad program: a 31 percent increase that would raise the budget to $130 million.
Sources: The Politico: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2673.html
http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator/vol-11-num-11.html
GAO Report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06818.pdf
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