The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the Drug Czar’s ads may actually cause more teen drug use. 

Monitoring the Future’s data seems to support this conclusion.

DRUG CZAR'S AD BUDGET	TEEN DRUG USE
Source: Congressional Research Service	Source: Monitoring the Future

When fewer teens are exposed to the Drug Czar’s offensive ads, fewer teens try drugs. 

Coincidence?

WARNING: While attempting to infer causation from the correlation between the Drug Czar’s ad budget and teen drug use may seem ridiculous, it is certainly no more absurd than the statistical gymnastics performed regularly by the Drug Czar and his staff.  The difference?  They use taxpayer dollars to fund their stretching.

Prominent Criticisms of the Drug Czar’s Anti-Drug Ad Campaign

“[There is] little evidence of direct favorable campaign effects on youth…[E]ffects were consistently in an unfavorable direction, i.e., higher exposure leading to weaker anti-drug norms. In addition, there may have been a significant unfavorable effect of exposure from the Marijuana Initiative period on initiation of use, i.e., higher campaign exposure leading to higher rates of initiation.” – National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study

“NOT PERFORMING - Results Not Demonstrated …Outcome data from the evaluation suggest little or no direct positive effect on youth behavior and attitudes attributable to the Campaign.” – White House Office of Management and Budget

“There is no solid evidence that media campaigns are effective in either preventing or reducing the use of illegal drugs…[Eliminating the campaign would save taxpayers] $1.3 billion over ten years [and] $631 million over five years.” – Republican Study Committee, a 110-member group of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives

“The conferees are deeply disturbed by the lack of evidence that the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has had any appreciable impact on youth drug use. With the funds provided for fiscal year 2003, expenditures on the Media Campaign will be over $1,000,000,000 since the program's inception in fiscal year 1998…If the campaign continues to fail to demonstrate effectiveness, then the Committees will be compelled to reevaluate the use of taxpayer money to support the Media Campaign.” – U.S. Congress, 2003 conference report

“One of ONDCP’s cornerstone programs, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, has been an utter failure.  The five-year effort has wasted $2 billion on propaganda with no measurable results;” “[The program is] touted as an educational outreach effort, but remains nothing more than a thinly-veiled propaganda scheme…Congress rolled taxpayers into a ditch of weeds by funding the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.” – Citizens Against Government Waste

“Our view is that instead of authorizing an additional $1.02 billion over the next five years for this campaign, this money should be returned to taxpayers or be used to start paying off the national debt…Taxpayers want government to be effective and frugal.  It only makes sense that when government spends taxpayer money on any program, taxpayers should see results.  It is our belief that the Media Campaign has not proven itself effective and that it should not be reauthorized.” – National Taxpayers Union

“The White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has spent more than $1 billion on an anti-drug ad campaign whose only measurable effect has been that the ads may cause some teens to smoke more dope. Despite no evidence that the ads are effective, Congress is about to authorize nearly $1 billion more for ONDCP to burn through in the next five years.” – Taxpayers for Common Sense

Stay in Touch with Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Sign up to get periodic news updates and important action alerts from SSDP!