New Tory Anti-Pot Ad roundly mocked

mentalfloss

mentalfloss

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Tory anti-pot ad mocked and condemned by YouTube viewers

'Not a fan of pot, but this ad is just stupid,' a viewer writes as Health Canada ad gets panned

If you go by the viewership numbers alone, the Conservative government's latest attempt to alert Canadian parents to the purported dangers of teen pot use is fast becoming a YouTube sensation.

The 30-second ad, which was posted to the video-sharing network last month as part of a multi-platform ad campaign, is currently on track to surpass 200,000 views.

The video has already blasted past the previous record for the department's official YouTube channel — just over 110,000 viewers and counting for a stylistically and thematically similar ad launched as part of the same campaign, which targeted teen prescription drug abuse.

To put those numbers in perspective, most of the other videos posted under the Healthy Canadians moniker have viewership numbers in the low to mid-hundreds.

At least some of the credit for that six-figure audience should almost certainly go to Reddit, where a thread devoted to the ad has spawned more than 400 comments of its own since it was posted on Wednesday.

But before the celebratory (non-alcoholic) champagne starts flowing in the Health Canada boardroom, the creative team responsible for the video might want to scan the YouTube comment thread.

A sampling:

"As a Canadian taxpayer, I'm highly offended that my money contributed to this mass disinformation, which amounts to nothing more than scare tactics. It's time for the government to drop the political motives that are clearly behind these types of messages about drugs, and instead embrace an opinion that is based on public health."

"What a weak argument - '300 - 400% stronger than it was 30 years ago'. Now you only have to smoke a half joint, instead of 3 joints like you did 30 years ago! Weak! I want my tax money back!"

"Listening to this commercial can seem harmless, but it can cause serious damage to a teen’s developing brain."

"I used to think marijuana was bad, till I saw this commercial. Now I've concluded adults are liars."

"I don't smoke cannabis, but it's disgraceful knowing my tax money is being wasted on propaganda. How about some sources?"

"Is this the same advertisement that the College of Physicians refused to support?"

"Not a fan of pot, but this ad is just stupid," concluded a user going by the handle Antphetamines.

The video has also garnered more than 2,500 "thumbs down" via the YouTube user-ranking system, with just over 100 viewers giving it a "thumbs up."

Despite the negative comments and reviews, Health Canada could still deem the campaign a success, at least as far as the sheer number of eyeballs the ad has reached over the three weeks the video has been up.

But the decision to open the video for seemingly unfiltered audience reaction illustrates one of the perils of launching a two-way conversation as part of a public awareness campaign: namely, that there's a very good chance people may take you up on the invitation to talk back.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/tory-anti-pot-ad-mocked-and-condemned-by-youtube-viewers-1.2833776
 
CDNBear

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Wow, now the CBC is using the comments from YouTubers, to attack the Harper gov't?

I will agree, the claim on potency is out to lunch. But everything else claimed in the ad, is based on fact.

But I'm glad to see the CBC really break out the good journalism here.
 
mentalfloss

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Canadian taxpayers paying $5 million for pot propaganda

In the latest taxpayer-funded mailout to all households in his Hastings-Prince Edward riding, our illustrious member of Parliament asks us if we are feeling safer these days. Daryl Kramp wants our feedback, postage-free (read: We are all paying for this with our taxes), sent back to him in Ottawa. Within that same mailout we are told exactly how the Harper Government has made us safer. So, naturally, our answers should be, "Yes. I feel safer. Thank God for Mr. Harper."

This is your classic political powerat-any-cost mentality in action. First you scare them ... Justin Trudeau wants your kid to be a drug addict. Then you tell them how you are going to save them ... we are building more jail cells. Canadians are still falling for it. With our own tax dollars we are being fed lies and misinformation on a daily basis. With our own money the lies are being repeated, and repeated, and repeated until they shape reality for those naive acolytes who form the permanent "Conservative base." The latest example of the misuse of our tax dollars in this way are the anti-marijuana ads purported to be from Health Canada. Harper will not tell us what we are paying to run them on television and the Internet but all estimates are at least $5 million. Harper's 30-second video ends with: "A message from the Government of Canada."

In case you have not noticed, an American-style 2015 election campaign has started and Conservatives are using our tax dollars for their own deceptive campaigning right now. Peterborough's recently convicted MP Dean Del Mastro is just a big chip off the old unethical block.

Unless you have been under a rock somewhere you will have that image of a glass tube brain embedded in your own brain. With sinister music playing in the background those glass brain-tubes get dirtier as the announcer tells us of all of the damage marijuana does to a teen's brain. "Loss of memory. Learning problems. Decreased IQ." Marijuana is 300 to 400 per cent stronger than your 1960's hippie's pot! Despite the fact this is simply untrue, think of it this way: humans soon figure out that you had better not drink the same volume of 40 per cent whiskey as you do four per cent beer or you will be very sorry in the morning. You may even be dead come morning because alcohol is a poison with no medical value. Despite the facts no one has ever died from using cannabis and that it offers proven medical value Harper has to make it look evil because Justin Trudeau and Elizabeth May would legalize, regulate and tax it.

Meanwhile, down south of the border last week, while ultra-conservative Republicans were winning more elections, the American people voted to legalize cannabis in Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C. Add them to Washington state and Colorado, which have been reaping the benefits of increased tourism and taxation since legalizing over a year ago, while simultaneously watching drug dealers exit their states, and it is plain to see the people know the truth about this plant which any good evangelical Christian like Harper should thank his God for putting on our planet. Instead Harper chooses to keep telling the old American lies to Canadians.

Now we have the absurdity of British Columbia, renowned worldwide for its high quality BC Bud, sandwiched between Alaska and Washington state where marijuana is now legal. Here in Canada Harper has his RCMP throwing Canadians in jail, seizing their homes and other assets, destroying their families and in many cases shooting the family dog when they kick in the front door of a suspected grow op at 3 a.m., consequently generating huge costs for our justice system.

The truth is exactly the opposite of what Harper and Kramp keep telling us. They actually support organized crime. If you do not believe me here is a quote from JoaquÃ*n "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera the Mexican billionaire drug cartel kingpin whose empire is still run by his offspring and friends while he sits in a Mexican prison. "Whoever came up with this War On Drugs, I would like to kiss him on the lips and shake his hand and buy him dinner with caviar and champagne. The War On Drugs is the greatest thing that ever happened to me and all my closest friends. I couldn't have gotten so stinking rich without George Bush, G. Bush Jr., Ronald Reagan, even El Presidente Obama; none of them have the cajones to stand up to all the big money that wants to keep this stuff illegal. From the bottom of my heart I want to say gracias amigos, I owe my whole empire to you." El Chapo had been ranked by Forbes as the tenth richest man in Mexico. Since 2006 over 53,000 Mexicans have been killed as the cartels continue to fight for market share to this day.

TV has been called "The Opiate of the Masses." Canadians should turn off their mind-numbing televisions and turn on their own intellects. Do some research. Search for the truth on the issues facing us all. Start by googling US Patent No. 6,630,507 B1 dated October 7, 2003, which proves the United States government has legally locked in patent rights to the active ingredients in cannabis. I personally gave a hard copy of these patent papers to Mr. Kramp but it has done no good. He still votes exactly as Harper tells him to no matter what evidence he has available.

So do I feel safer Daryl? No. But hey, thanks for asking.

Canadian taxpayers paying $5 million for pot propaganda
 
CDNBear

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Hey neat, anti Harper propaganda hiding in an Op/Ed attacking anti pot propaganda, the lolz write themselves.
 
CDNBear

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Almost.

The only part that I think they fail on is potency, it is way more potent today than the 70's, but i don't think it's 300 to 400% more so.

Apart from that, it's back by scientific research that I've read and anecdotally witnessed.
 
Praxius

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Well that ad was pretty stupid.


Pot hasn't given me memory loss. I still remember things I did back from ages 3 & 4.


% as noted by others already is way off, and when you start your message with something flat out wrong, how can you be expected to be taken seriously with the rest of it?


Lower IQ? I'm 164.... Does that mean that if I never started smoking at the age of 17 my IQ could have been 211?


One thing I would like to know though is where can I get a pipe or bong shaped like a brain? That thing is cool.


Yup, the ad got a pile of views, but is that really a success, when so many people have thumbed it down and many of those who viewed it are probably getting more information from the comments than the actual ad, regardless if those comments are right or wrong??


So how much money was wasted on that ad again? I said wasted as I doubt it helped sway anybody in the direction they wanted. Even the people who don't smoke weed said the ad was crap.


What Flim Flarring Flammin Filth
 
Retired_Can_Soldier

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Huh? What were we talking about again?
 
CDNBear

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Hey Prax, the bulk of the morons that bristle against the facts in the ad, use anecdotal evidence too.
 
Colpy

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I am all for legalizing marijuana.

I have no problem with the Youtube ad.

The thing that most puts me off my own wish for legalization is the PotCult that believes the stuff is nectar of the gods, harmless, all side effects are positive.

If smoking dope makes you THAT stupid, then maybe it should be illegal.
 
Praxius

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Retired_Can_Soldier said:
Huh? What were we talking about again?
Click to expand...



Dunno.... But all this talk is making me want a joint..... Been over two years since the last time I had any.

Stuck with crappy cigarettes here in Australia and I never cared for drinking. Most here in Australia seem to link marijuana with meth labs exploding in your neighbors garage.... The news reports of meth labs blowing up don't help either when they toss a couple of stock footage / clips in the report showing cops hauling away pot plants from a completely different house and time.
 
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Nuggler

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Zipperfish

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Reminds of the old "Just Say No" ads of the Reagan era. The problem with overselling the harm of pot is that it the majority of Canadians have tried it, so they know. For the vast majority it isn't a problem. For a few it is. The IQ claim is dubious. Personally, I think it should be a matter of indivudal choice for adults.
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

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Stop playing politics with teens’ brains and legalize pot

Tobacco is addictive, dangerous and responsible for thousands of deaths in Canada each year. Imagine if the federal government tried to deal with that massive threat by making tobacco illegal and throwing anyone caught with a cigarette in jail.

Would that put a stop to smoking? Or simply drive it underground and tie up valuable resources trying to enforce a ban destined to fail?

Globe and Mail Update Nov. 05 2014, 12:25 PM EST
Video: Taking a closer look at the shifting views on marijuana in America

The answer, of course, is the latter. And that’s why Canada has, over the course of decades, invested in strategies that work: restricting sale of tobacco to minors, banning cigarette advertisements and sponsorships, even prohibiting retail displays of tobacco products in stores. Across the country, smoking rates have fallen dramatically and awareness of the dangers of tobacco is high.

So it seems beyond irresponsible that the federal government continues, with mule-like insistence, to stand by its position that the way to stop young people from smoking marijuana is to keep it illegal.

That strategy doesn’t work. And sticking to it only makes the problem worse.

There are ongoing debates over the merits of medical marijuana, and it’s worth noting that is a whole separate topic. From a public-health standpoint, the debate over policy on recreational marijuana use, similar to policies surrounding tobacco and alcohol, hinges on how to reduce society’s exposure to potential harms.

Canada has the dubious distinction of having the highest rates of marijuana usage among young people across all developed countries (nearly 30 per cent of 15-year-olds said they had tried it in the past year, according to a 2013 Unicef study; and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse reports that as much as 10 per cent of Grade 12 students smoke pot every day). That should be cause for serious alarm given what we are learning about marijuana’s effect on the developing brain. Last month, The Globe and Mail documented the mounting evidence connecting early and/or frequent exposure to marijuana with neurological problems, some of them serious and long-lasting.

The federal government is aware of the risks, and recently launched a new, expensive advertising campaign to warn people about the dangerous effects of cannabis on the teenage brain. At the same time, the Conservative-dominated House of Commons health committee published a report on the harms of marijuana. In what was surely a complete coincidence, one of its recommendations suggested tackling the problem by launching a public-awareness ad campaign.

Are we really prepared to believe that a TV commercial will stop teens from smoking weed with their friends? Considering that the threat of going to jail hasn’t deterred 30 per cent of 15-year-olds from trying marijuana, an advertising campaign isn’t likely to do the trick.

But there is a way to effect real, positive change. And that’s by implementing a careful, well-crafted and tightly controlled legalization framework (far tighter than that in place around alcohol).

A look at tobacco rates illustrates what an effective, evidence-based policy of harm reduction can accomplish.

In 1965, more than half of boys and nearly 40 per cent of girls age 15-19 reported smoking tobacco. By 2012, the smoking rate among 15- to 19-year-olds was 11 per cent, the lowest ever recorded by Health Canada.

Unfortunately, the marijuana debate has become so politicized that a rational conversation is nearly impossible. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has said he will legalize marijuana – and bring in a series of tight controls and regulations – if he becomes prime minister. The Conservative Party saw this as an opening to brand Trudeau as a marijuana advocate who wants to put joints in the hands of kids, and used attack ads to get that message out.

Around the same time, Health Canada asked three major health organizations to sign on to its public-awareness campaign about the dangers of marijuana. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada all declined, saying the issue had become a “political football.”

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, CMA president Dr. Chris Simpson said that every option, including legalization, should be on the table and that a national dialogue on how to move forward is urgently needed. While the CMA’s official policy favours marijuana decriminalization, Simpson said the discussion has evolved so much that all parties – political and otherwise – should work together to find the best solution.

He also criticized those who continue to “cynically manipulate” the marijuana debate.

The case for legalization is growing. Just a few weeks ago, Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the largest hospital and research centre of its kind in the country, adopted a position calling for the legalization and strict regulation of marijuana.

The arguments in favour of legalization are compelling. It would seriously disable the black-market marijuana trade and allow the government to tightly control how and where marijuana is sold. It would also allow the regulation of what ingredients go into cannabis products, eliminating products with excessive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or those laced with other illicit substances.

There is widespread agreement that action is needed to bring down the number of young people using marijuana. The federal government is placing its bets on a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and more law enforcement.

History has already shown us how that approach will turn out.

Stop playing politics with teens’ brains and legalize pot - The Globe and Mail
 
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