The tobacco companies have been demonized for lying to their customers, but as big tobacco is having its lies exposed, another section of American society is having a field day with lies. Anti-drug organizations have somehow gotten the idea that lying is okay as long as it’s for a good cause.
While this is a deplorable act, consumers are also to blame.
Most people can remember the ads that claimed money spent on marijuana helped support terrorists. Those particular ads ran right before the ones equating marijuana smokers with drunk drivers.
How is it that a drug grown in America, sold in America and bought by Americans supports foreign terrorists?
Oh, and about marijuana and drunk drivers: Alcohol related deaths account for 5% of all deaths in America.
Number of deaths caused by marijuana usage: zero, according to http://bbsnews.net/drug-deaths.html. Marijuana is less addictive than coffee and doesn’t fund terrorism. But because a group of people believe all drugs are evil, they’re comfortable lying about it.
What about the ecstasy ads?
Ever since Dr. George Ricaurte of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine presented his much publicized study showing how ecstasy causes holes in the brain, teenagers have realized ecstasy is an extremely unsafe drug with dangerous long-term effects.
The only problem with this situation is his study isn’t true. No one was told other scientists in his field ridiculed Ricaurte’s “study” because it was completely false. How false? So false that ecstasy was not even used in the study.
That’s right, Ricaurte “accidentally” used the wrong drug in all of his test cases, which he finished just in time to appear before Congress and testify in favor of the proposed Anti-Rave Act.
The next time you see a Truth ad on TV or a story on the cover of Newsweek about the dangers of drugs, try to keep this in mind: People who pay for advertisements have an agenda. The more important they believe their agenda to be, the more likely they will lie to see that agenda achieved. The more people research these lies, the lesser the chances laws will be passed based on them and maybe an ad sponsored by The Truth will actually be true. Do your own research.
Daniel Watkins, 20, is a junior computer and information systems student from Hephzibah, Ga. He can be reached at caharin17@yahoo.com