|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
US: Drug Czar Launches Anti-Pot Campaign
ccguide Wednesday 18 Sep 2002 Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Webpage: www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1579880 Copyright: 2002 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper Contact: Website: http://www.chron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198 Author: Eun-Kyung Kim, Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUG CZAR LAUNCHES ANTI-POT CAMPAIGN WASHINGTON -- The nation's drug policy director warned parents on Tuesday against trivializing the dangers of marijuana to their kids, warning them that more teens are addicted to pot than to alcohol or to all other illegal drugs combined. Many parents and children have outdated perceptions about marijuana, said John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They believe marijuana is not addictive, that it's less dangerous than cigarettes or that it has few long-term health consequences. In reality, more teens enter rehabilitation centers to treat marijuana addiction than alcohol or all illegal drugs combined, Walters said. "Our effort is to correct the ignorance that is the single biggest obstacle to protecting our kids," he said as he announced an advertising campaign by his office and 17 education, public health, anti-drug and family advocacy groups. The national effort will include advertisements on television, radio and print media, along with ones that will air in NFL stadiums and inside game programs. "For too long our nation's teens have been getting the wrong message about marijuana. Youth popular culture has trivialized the real harm of marijuana in kids," Walters said. A common misperception is that smoking marijuana is less dangerous than smoking a cigarette, said Surgeon General Richard Carmona. But marijuana contains three to five times more tar and carbon monoxide than a comparable amount of tobacco, he said. It also affects the brain in ways similar to cocaine and heroin. Carmona said that one out of five eighth-graders has tried marijuana -- twice as many who tried it a decade ago. "Marijuana is not a rite of passage, but a dangerous behavior that could have serious health consequences. Parents must realize that what they tell their children about drug use makes a difference," Carmona said. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!