At last - a television campaign aimed at warning teenagers of the mental health problems associated with cannabis.
The Guardian today reports that, while it is not the first anti-cannabis advert to appear on British television, it is the first to target 11 to 14-year-olds.
Like many, I used to think that cannabis was no real big deal, and was a drug on par with alcohol and cigarettes. I now know that it isn’t. Its ability to trigger long-term mental health problems is far greater than we thought 10 years ago. Or rather, more of us are now aware of the mental health risk.
According to figures quoted in the Guardian, 10,000 11 to 17-year-olds were treated for cannabis use in 2005, 10 times the number a decade ago.
I have watched the advert on the Guardian site. It is hard hitting. I have seen that kind of thing happen to people. A cannabis-user who experiences that level of paranoia doesn't have to have been using the drug for very long.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/feb/13/advertising-drugsandalcohol
Well done to Frank, the Home Office-run drugs advice and information service promoting the ad. The campaign is well worth the £2.2 million the government spent on it.
My Radio Portfolio
3 years ago
1 comment:
i'd be interested to see a campaign that lays it out directly how cannabis can affect you in the long term.
i was still under the 'folk knowledge' impression that the only side effects were temporary - paranoia. plus there the vague idea it can effect your memory.
that tv ad just shows the short-term effect, which i can understand but kids that age who smoke the stuff will know what their own response to cannabis is
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