Unknown federal agencies have published reports on anti-drug government campaigns. The report highlights “competing, contradictory and confusing messages” regarding marijuana and other substances. This could be detrimental to their effectiveness.
Government Accountability Office released a report focusing on White House Office of National Drug Control Policy outreach efforts. The panel of twelve experts who evaluated antidrug media campaigns was composed of 12 professionals in the field.
According to the report submitted to Congress, ONDCP was funded $1.4 Billion from 1998-2006 to support its National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The campaign was “designed to stop or reduce the use of illicit drugs by youth across the country.”
It said: “We published a report on the campaign back in August 2006. Our review of the program evaluations showed that activities focusing on marijuana were not effective to reduce youth drug abuse.”
In its previous report, GAO-often referred to by lawmakers as “congressional monitor”-advised them to “consider limiting appropriations to the media campaign, until ONDCP can provide credible evidence on the impact of exposure to this campaign in terms of youth drug use.”
The report also suggested that legislators facilitate “an independent evaluation of the campaign as a way to inform ONDCP’s and Congressional decisions.” Congress accepted this recommendation. It limited the funding and required ONDCP’s report with recommendations regarding “the development and improvement of meaningful and improved measurements of effectiveness of media campaign”.
A GAO expert noted that in the report that the youth focus group had found, while many young people would admit to using cannabis “few were willing” to accept the negative effects.
It said that “many responded, however, that the marijuana use of their friends had negative effects, including disappointing family and friends.” The campaign then developed new messages that featured youth who were concerned about the use of marijuana by their friends and how it affected relationships.
GAO noted that campaigns do not take place in isolation. External variables could influence behavior, which may be the subject of the campaign. In campaigns that last for many years there are a variety of changes in policy at both the national and state levels.
For example, legalizing marijuana in some states can affect the use of marijuana there. “There are often conflicting and competing messages that surround a particular campaign which result in mixed signals,” the report continued. For example, children may find a campaign against alcohol or drugs for youths conflicting if they see their parents drinking or using marijuana. Media placements of alcohol can dilute campaigns against drinking.
GAO stated that it sent a draft of its report to both the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their review. However, they didn’t provide any feedback regarding the findings.
The report states that “people are more exposed than ever to media, making it difficult for them to reach out.” The report says that campaigns should realize even though they use the most up-to-date evidence to implement their campaign, it may not perform as expected. But they could still collect useful data and learn.
The GAO has previously called for ONDCP to limit funding to anti-drug programs, but it also stressed the need for robust evaluations to be conducted.
Other federal agencies, outside the office of the drug czar, have been taking steps to modify their campaigns around preventing potentially dangerous drugs-related activities in recent years.
In its efforts to prevent impaired driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, has turned more towards cannabis culture than traditional PSAs that promote negative stereotypes.
House appropriators appear to have responded to the prohibitionists’ efforts by advancing legislation which would prevent federal safety agencies from funding ads “encourage[ing] illegal drug and alcohol consumption.”
“Last year, NHTSA released taxpayer-funded impaired driving ads that trivialized marijuana use—even implying that using marijuana before driving was no big deal,” the anti-cannabis group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) said. “That isn’t prevention. That’s promotion.”
NHSTA has worked with many state agencies to spread the message about the dangers associated with driving after being impaired by THC. This is done with humorous memes, which are intended to be appealing to cannabis consumers, rather than frighten them off with judgemental messages as the previous government approach was.
For example, last December the agency released new messaging aimed at promoting safe driving habits among cannabis users. The ad included a cannabis-bud Christmas tree that appeared stoned and the message: “If the greenery of the holidays is important to you, then find sober transportation.”
In 2021, NHTSA tried to get the word out about the dangers of impaired driving through an ad featuring a computer-generated cheetah smoking a joint and driving a convertible.
The agency also played on horror-movie tropes in a 2020 ad featuring two men running for their lives from an axe murderer. Both men eventually find an escape vehicle, but their driver hesitates to turn the ignition key. He says, “Wait. Wait. Wait.” “I can’t drive. I’m high.”
Martin Alonso is the photographer.