Monti Stiles’ summary of the celebrity campaign on marijuana is a great write-up and captures many of the similarities of the marijuana and tobacco industries. There is a lot of truth behind the idea of tackling these problems head on and instilling urgency. This counsel might be the key behind stopping marijuana usage especially in youth.
Thoughts about celebrity pot endorsements and pop culture
Everyone, As I mentioned in my last email, it seems that a new celebrity joins the "Pot is Fun" campaign on a daily basis. This is contributing greatly to the fiction that marijuana is harmless and therefore should be legalized. If you are unaware of this phenomenon, simply look at the current media frenzy over Miley Cyrus' revelations about her own drug use and her wildly popular and bizarre music video entitled "We Can't Stop" (with numerous drug references and over 34 MILLION views on YouTube). Anyone who has watched her transformation from Hannah Montana to a druggie has to be frightened for her and all of the young people who idolize her. Last night, Cyrus discussed her marijuana-based friendship with Snoop Dogg on the Jimmy Kimmel show (a confessed pot smoker himself). "We're more alike than you think . . . we're very similar," she said, to which Kimmel quipped, "That's because he's so high, he doesn't know what his name is." "Me too, so it’s fine. We both are," she responded, laughing. "That’s why we get along so well, I guess."
The audience went wild with enthusiasm.
Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the annual conference of the Association of Idaho Cities on the topic of "The Impacts of Marijuana Legalization" which included a summary of all of the cultural influences inflicted upon our young people by the pot lobbyists and other lovers of weed.
In a question/answer session at the end, one public official mentioned the success of "shock and awe" messages used in the fight against methamphetamine and tobacco (proving that drug education really works when we do enough of it). I wholeheartedly agreed with this and noted that, in my experience, ADULTS are often overwhelmed when presented with all of the cultural influences surrounding their children. Although each of these can viewed as "relatively harmless" by themselves, the effect is shocking when viewed as a whole.
My opinion is that the "shock and awe" part of the drug legalization fight is to show people what is actually happening in our culture through books, magazines, fashion, pot products, social media, cultural icons, celebrity endorsements, movies, television (even cartoons), music, websites, games, and blatant advertising by those who stand to make billions off of the pot culture. When adults are shown the real world of their children, they are often motivated to act (meaning fight against legalization through increased prevention and education).
In the book, The Heart of Change, the author points out that change doesn't occur in society unless there is a sense of urgency. Like the pictures of meth addicts and lung cancer victims, popular culture can be used to identify a sense of urgency in communities that are otherwise prone to apathy on the subject. But they must first be made aware of what is happening.
Several decades ago, our country fought back against the popular culture of the 60s and 70s, and we had success in reducing overall drug use in America until pro-pot billionaires and national pro-drug lobbying organizations began a system-wide destruction of drug education - along with the abrogation of duty by our elected officials.
Someday, when we come to our senses, the proponents of pot will be vilified like the tobacco industry, but not before we lose additional citizens in a stupefied haze of high THC content marijuana smoke. Until then, let’s do everything we can to wake America up before it is too late.
Monte Stiles
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
