FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 26, 2005
1:12 PM
| CONTACT: Marijuana Policy Project
Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 202-543-7972 or 415-668-6403 Harvey Ginsburg, 512-392-9927, 512-787-9772 (cell) or 310-396-6000 (after 4 p.m. May 27) |
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- A new study of the government's anti- marijuana commercials shows that the ads create as many negative
thoughts and impressions as positive ones, casting doubt on White
House claims that the ads have reduced teen drug use. The new research
will be presented by Dr. Harvey Ginsburg of Texas State University,
San Marcos, as a "hot topics" talk at the American Psychological
Society's annual convention in Los Angeles on May 28.
Groups of students, ages 18-23, were shown either four anti- tobacco TV commercials produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or four anti-marijuana ads produced by the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Volunteers wrote down
their reactions to each, and responses were then coded by independent
reviewers (who did not know which ads had been viewed) as favorable
to the ads' intent (e.g. characters giving warnings were viewed
positively; themes were seen as realistic), unfavorable, or other.
The combined responses to the anti-tobacco ads were strongly
favorable, with overwhelmingly favorable responses to three out of
four commercials. In contrast, the marijuana ads produced as many
unfavorable responses as favorable ones. Only one of the four anti- marijuana commercials produced significantly more responses that were
desirable (from the producers' point of view) than undesirable.
"These findings are roughly consistent with independent
evaluations showing that the anti-marijuana ads failed to produce
positive impacts and may actually boomerang," Dr. Ginsburg said. "Any
White House conclusions that their ads have caused a national
reduction in marijuana use are not warranted."
The final independent evaluation of the ONDCP ads, conducted by
the University of Pennsylvania and originally scheduled for release
in January, has been delayed without explanation.
Ginsburg's presentation is at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, at
the Westin Century Plaza Hotel, Malibu Room, 2025 Avenue of the Stars,
in Los Angeles. For information, see
http://www.psychologicalscience.org.
With more than 17,000 members and 120,000 e-mail subscribers
nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana
policy reform organization in the United States. For more information,
please visit http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org ###
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