WARNING: Trigger alert for people sensitive to graphic photos related to drugs.
Bill Ford over at Dad on Fire (one of my favorite blogs for the latest information on this topic) has posted about a new anti-drug campaign aimed at youth. I watched each of the video clips really wanting to see something that would impact our current generation of kids.
The video clips were creative, thoughtful...and I mean no disrespect to whoever put them together, but they are weak. They will appeal to a certain type of kid. A kid who sees himself in these videos, who may have already decided drugs are stupid and following the crowd is lame.
I know I am going out on a limb by making this generalization, but its based on my observation of Keven, Anthony, Kels, Jon, Gilbert, Matt, Ross, Andrew, Lauren, Lauren 2, Anthony 2, Mikey, Christian, Brian, Jesse, Justin, Brian, Chad, and Ryan 1 and 2.
These are all of Keven's friends. The ones that are not addicts have very different personalities from each others, but they all have passions they have been following for years and are well adjusted emotionally with a relatively, healthy self esteem.
The others are either bad ass guys who think they are tough and indestructible, emotionally hurt, suffering from a past trauma (abuse most likely) or lonely. They see drugs as not only a means to an end, but a lifestyle that appeals to them. They would never relate to the kids on the videos I just watched.
Drugs and the drug culture provide a place to belong where you fit in no matter what, druggies watch out for each other - unless of course they are desperate for drugs then they will steal from their best friend. But usually the people who choose to try heroin (specifically) are looking to take a risk, try something exciting and in the process discover that it delivers the most incredible feeling in the world, a feeling that becomes the new focus of life. Within the first few uses they are hooked and then begins the uphill battle that typically lasts for years and destroys everyone and everything in its path. The lucky ones get out alive.
So all this to say - even looking back on a young Keven from years ago, he would have laughed at these videos and said they were stupid. Some of the kids I listed above would agree with him but inwardly would take the message seriously, and others would go out of their way to use drugs just because of their rebellious nature.
Its really sad but I think showing real junkies, crackheads and tweakers would make more of an impact. Showing girls that were once real cute and popular in school looking haggard at 17 and trading sexual favors for a hit of heroin, showing the "tough guys" begging and crying for more drugs, showing the ugliness, the filth, the crime, the violence, the jail beatings, the FUTURE of what happens to addicts....that MAY get through to a few more kids. They need graphic images like this:
Unfortunately, this new ad campaign seems like maybe a step or two above "just say no". Maybe.
Peace, Hope and Love, Barbara
2 comments:
And then you have the rampant internet talk about the Arizona shooter and how pot makes you do things like he did. Have you seen this BS? I have read several articles stating that this killer was a drug addict who smoked pot everyday, and some of these people site the pot to be one of his main issues. Where does that leave the heroin users, and the crack addicts? It leaves them in this awful category that is even worse than this shooter in Arizona. It leaves them in a situation where rehabilitation is not veiwed as a possibility. Let's be realistic...his mental illness is a stronger factor than his pot use. If we could be more realistic with our campaigns, our impressionable youth would be much more likely to listen to the message. When the youth are surrounded by stupid ads and false conclusions, how can they ever be expected to make the right desicions? It makes all media seem like BS. Have you ever seen the campaign against crystal meth where it shows the meth users at different stages of their disease? It is a great campaign to see these users after one year, two years, and more...the deterioration is scary. And it was enough to scare me, and I saw that campaign after I was an opiate addict, but it sure did scare me out doing meth!
Just watched a couple of the ads. They're lame. I don't think they could/would deter anyone from using.
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