(excerpted from)
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NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.lp.org/
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For release: September 10, 1999
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For additional information:
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: 76214.3676@Compuserve.com
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Study: Government's anti-drug commercials
make teenagers more curious about drugs

        WASHINGTON, DC -- A new study has discovered that teenagers who
watch anti-drug TV commercials become more "curious" about illegal
drugs. So why, the Libertarian Party asked today, are taxpayers being
forced to pay for those ads?

        "According to this study, the government is spending $195
million a year of our money to tantalize teenagers about illegal
drugs," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "Shouldn't
Americans have a choice about whether we want to fund what is
essentially a 'Just Do It' advertising campaign for drugs?"

        In a study released earlier this year, two researchers found
that teenagers who viewed anti-drug Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
"were more curious about using illicit drugs" than participants who
didn't see the PSAs.

        According to the authors of the study, assistant professor S.
Shyam Sundar at Penn State University and doctoral student Carson
Wagner at the University of Colorado (Boulder), students exposed to
anti-drug PSAs desired more "experimental knowledge" about drugs, not
just "knowledge about drug-related facts."

        And the study found the "mere mention" of illegal drugs in PSAs
created an "everybody's doing it" effect in teenagers -- and caused
them to "increase estimations" of the prevalence of drug use among
their peers.

        These findings come at a crucial time, since the federal
government has sharply increased the amount of money it spends on
anti-drug commercials. Currently, the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America spend
about $195 million of taxpayers' money to broadcast anti-drug PSAs.

        Wouldn't it be tragic then, asked Dasbach, if that $195 million
is making America's drug problem worse?

        "According to this study, the government is effectively acting
as a tax-funded advertising agency for drug pushers," he said. "And,
unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it. If a private
anti-drug organization was running these ads, you could threaten to
withhold your contributions. With the government, you don't have that
option -- even if politicians use your money to glamorize drugs to
teenagers."

        But if government anti-drug television ads don't work, what
does?

        Parents, said Dasbach. According to another recent study,
children who are warned about the potential dangers of drugs by their
parents are 36% less likely to use marijuana than children whose
parents don't discuss the issue, and 56% less likely to use cocaine.

        "One concerned parent is more effective than $195 million in
government-funded advertising," noted Dasbach. "Given that information,
what is the real solution to the problem of drugs -- the government or
parents?"

        Interestingly, even the government has figured out the answer
to that question, he said. A new government-funded newspaper
advertisement states: "The most effective deterrent to drug use among
kids isn't the police, or prison, or politicians. [It] is their
parents."

        That's an astonishing revelation from the government, said
Dasbach.

        "Let's see: The government admits police and prison are not an
effective deterrent. Does that mean politicians will promise to stop
arresting 700,000 people a year for marijuana crimes? And the
government admits politicians are not an effective deterrent. Does that
mean we'll get back the $195 million they wasted on anti-drug
advertisements?" he asked.

        If not, it proves one thing, said Dasbach: "Not even the
government pays attention to its anti-drug ads. So why should we expect
teenagers to do so?"

The Libertarian Party                                      http://www.lp.org/
2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100                          voice: 202-333-0008
Washington DC 20037                                         fax: 202-333-0072

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