Washington, DC: Federal anti-drug ads released after September 11, 2001 alleging that recreational drug use aids terrorism fail to discourage viewers from trying marijuana and other drugs, and may actually increase use among teens, according to an evaluation released last month by Westat Inc. and the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania for the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The review found "little evidence" that the White House's Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which recently spent more than than $4 million dollars to air a pair of anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs) during January's Super Bowl broadcast, is having any favorable effects on youth's attitudes toward marijuana or other drugs.

"There is no statistically significant decline in marijuana use to date, and some evidence for an increase in use from 2000 to 2001," authors determined. "Nor are there improvements in beliefs and attitudes about marijuana use between 2000 and the first half of 2002. Contrarily, there are some unfavorable trends in youth anti-marijuana beliefs."

For example, authors noted, "Those who were more exposed to the Campaign (from November 1999 to January 2001) tended to move more markedly in a 'pro-drug' direction as they aged than those who were exposed less."

The Westat and Annenberg review is their second straight evaluation criticizing the White House ad campaign. A previous review released last spring reported similar results, which prompted Drug Czar John Walters to modify the ad campaign to focus primarily on marijuana and the alleged link between illicit drugs and terrorism. Last June, Walters promised members of the US Senate that he could turn the ad campaign around by the fall of 2002. "I'm willing to live by the results [of the] fall (2002) and spring (2003)," he said.

NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said that despite Walters' promises, the White House ad campaign continues to have the opposite effect on teens than the one lawmakers intended. "This is a colossal waste of taxpayer's dollars," Stroup said, noting that the ad campaign costs an estimated $195 million per year. "The more often teens see these ads, the less likely they are to say no to marijuana and other drugs. Clearly, teens are dismissing these ads and their message as nothing more than government propaganda."

He added, "NORML believes there is nothing to be gained by exaggerating marijuana's harmfulness. On the contrary, by overstating marijuana's potential harm, our policy-makers undermine their credibility, and their ability to effectively educate the public of the legitimate harms associated with more dangerous drugs."

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. The Westat and Annenberg report, "Evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign: Fifth Semi-Annual Report of Findings," is available online.