Do you agree with me on this:

[Deja Q]

The "Mom the Enforcer" (tm) commercial:

Mom grounds Junior because she found some pot.

Several times she reminds him he's grounded. No phone, no TV, you've seen the ad.

At the end, Junior goes back to the dope dealers, who try to get him to try their new stash.

His response? "No, I don't want to get grounded again."

Junior missed the point; it's far more than getting grounded. Drugs will harm and drugs will kill.

THAT is why the commercial is 30 seconds of cattle cack.

Do you agree or disagree?

[onebigbadwulf]

1. Wrong

The next generation has been pumped full of fear by the media and have built up a tolerance. They are desensitized to things like "it will kill you" or "it will harm you" because they know it's bull or they just don't care anymore. Those two phrases are completely MEANINGLESS to them, and only have an effect on paranoid seniors.

These commercials are effective because it targets their reality- TV, Video games, Social life.

When I was a kid my mom told me that if I walked down the alley to school I would get killed. Of course this never stopped me. But when I got grounded for a week with no nintendo, I stopped walking down the alley.


This commercials helps parents figure out how to connect to the kids, and it also connects the kids to something they care about- which unfortunately, has nothing to do with safety or the law.

[RandomUser]

9. You've got an interesting point here

Repetition can indeed desensitize, and a different approach can be complementary and not exclusive to the old approach.

[acmavm]

2. It's not the smoking (or oxycotin taking) that's bad, it's getting caught

that's the killer. Isn't that the example shown by that idiot Limbaugh?

[Bossy Monkey]

3. I just raved about the stupidity of that spot on a different poll

and probably got it completely wrong due to my habit of treating the tv as a radio while noodling on the computer. I always assumed the person offering weed at the end of the PSA was holding out a joint; if it's a dealer holding out a bag or something, then I just made an idiot out of myself again. Oh well.

Dunno, to be (relatively) serious for a minute, you'd have to ask a young teen whether they found the spot to be effective, or whether it would make them less likely to try or use pot. I'm thinking..... naaaaaaah.

[bleedingheart]

4. You forgot what most mothers would say...

"I don't want you hanging out with the kind of kids that do drugs"

I was raised by a mother who was strict. I had the fear of mother in my heart...making her unhappy or upset was my greatest fear...

[dofus]

5. My 16 year old

thinks the commercial is nuts, that all it shows is the negative consequences of getting caught.

There's another commercial out there that shows a kid mourning the death of his brother in a driving accident. Turns out brother was stoned on marijuana at the time, and the purported message is that marijuana kills.

Now, I don't want to be too approving of an illegal drug, but someone getting into a fatal accident while high on marijuana is extremely rare, while doing the same while high on alcohol is relatively common. The message that should be conveyed is not to drive whenever under the influence of any drugs, which is the one I try to get my kids to understand. I accept that they'll drink, probably try various other drugs, but what I don't want is that they drive or ride with someone under the influence of anything.

[DrZhivago]

6. Its way better than most anti-drug commercials out there

At least is not linking pot use to terrorism or teen pregnancy. If anything its directed at parents to be tougher and at the same time more understanding with their kids.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi DrZhivago!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[dreissig]

7. Is Marijuana Harmful, Really?

I used to smoke marijuana, don't any more. I never believed it was harmful, and I still don't. Maybe somebody can inform me of a danger that I wasn't aware of. I'm open minded!

[kixot]

8. Reefer addicts are violent, thieving deviants that must be stopped!!

The kind of guy who'd step on his own grandmother for a fix.

[HEyHEY]

11. look for t-shades

his pants will be stained with seimen from constantly jacking-off when he can't find a rape victim.

- HST

[HEyHEY]

10. I was gonna mention this yesterday

I think it is a waste of time because when I was young, I feared my folks and that never stopped me from doing shit.
Edit: If that kid would just relax and have a joint he wouldn't worry so much about being grounded

[Exultant Democracy]

14. that was just naughty

:evilgrin:

[TexasMexican]

12. I thought the message...

was that the kid should have tried harder to not get caught. :P

[Exultant Democracy]

13. You have till the kid is 6-7 to raise them

With the exception of a huge trauma they are who they are. Any kid that is going to get fucked up on drugs will do so, and there is nothing you can do to stop them if they actually want to.

[VermontDem2004]

19. Hi, I'm fucked up on drugs

:hi:

[VermontDem2004]

16. Marijuana will not harm and won't kill

Plus the commercial is funny as hell.

[Az]

17. You mistake the target of the commercial

Its not kids. Its mothers. The commercial is attempting to instruct parents how to behave.

[VermontDem2004]

18. Parents now are getting parenting skills from a commercial

I guess my mom fails at knowing how to behave. :smoke:

[MissMillie]

20. And where's dad?

Oh yeah... just how does a working mom find time to police her child 100% of the time, especially when there isn't a dad in the picture.

[VermontDem2004]

21. Parents can't police a kid when he was away from the home

If the commercial was the least bit accurate he would've probaly smoked with his buddies behind the stands and make sure he didn't get caught.

[kmla]

22. Wow. What a cynical bunch we are today...

As for the PSA in question - at it's least - is harmless. Perhaps not very effective for some people. But on the other hand, it MAY actually work for a certain few parents, and may provide an opening for parents and children to discuss this topic. As for 'getting parenting skills from TV' - any good advertising exec will tell you that you get your message out in any way you can that will reach the maximum amount of people.

As for the other comments pertaining to illegal drug use - and treating the issue in a cavalier fashion - joking does nothing to diminish the seriousness of the issue. Drug use is a problem today. Something we need to address, somehow, as a society. It is not a big joy to watch a friend with a great amount of potential piss it all away looking for the next high. This happens way too freakin' often.

Anyway, that's my 1/50th of a dollar.

Thanks for reading.

[VermontDem2004]

23. Hey, I don't have a problem with making fun of propaganda

At the very most it is harmless, we are taking about Marijuana aren't we? As far as the commercial, it is funny, it makes good comedy. The only thing that is a problem with Marijuana is it's illegal, other wise it's fine.

It is not a big joy to watch a friend with a great amount of potential piss it all away looking for the next high. This happens way too freakin' often.

I agree getting high on crack, meth, coke, prescribtion drugs, and other dangerous drugs do ruin people's lives. I am not laughing when I see someone high on those drugs.

[tigereye]

24. I have mixed feelings about this subject

On the one hand, I know many people who used a variety of substances and turned out fine. However, most of them did not use anything until they were in high school or older; although I have heard that pot - as it used to be called by those of us who came of age in the seventies - is a lot stronger now.

On the other hand, I have seen the terrible effects of those using much harder drugs, such as crack and heroin, on individuals and families, in my work.

So while I do think that marijuana and other drug laws are horribly punitive and misguided with not nearly enough money given to treatment, I am not sure that all drugs should be legal. It is a terribly complicated issue.

Commercials that have the intent of scaring parents are often overkill, although I view them differently now that I am a parent. The one I thought was alternately funny and disturbing was the one with the kid brother taking the lost wallet to his adult brother,who was wreathed in a cloud of smoke in the basement.

From what I have read, research indicates that being close to your kids and trusting them, may be the way to help them make the best choices.

Just my two cents on a issue I have been thinking a lot about lately.

[VermontDem2004]

25. I agree

On the one hand, I know many people who used a variety of substances and turned out fine. However, most of them did not use anything until they were in high school or older; although I have heard that pot - as it used to be called by those of us who came of age in the seventies - is a lot stronger now.
It may be alot stronger now(haven't smoked the 60's stuff) but I think it is stronger in a way where you get a better high from it. It is not deadly meaning there has not been one reported death from marijuana useage, it even helps people with glaucamo and it may help people with some kind of desease that i can't pronounce or spell.

So while I do think that marijuana and other drug laws are horribly punitive and misguided with not nearly enough money given to treatment, I am not sure that all drugs should be legal. It is a terribly complicated issue.
I think Marijuana should be legal because of the simple fact alcohol and tobacco is legal, I don't think other drugs should but the system needs to quit treating people with possession of any drug like criminals. Meaning someone should have to face treatment instead of jail time, selling dangerous drugs is a different issue.

Commercials that have the intent of scaring parents are often overkill, although I view them differently now that I am a parent. The one I thought was alternately funny and disturbing was the one with the kid brother taking the lost wallet to his adult brother,who was wreathed in a cloud of smoke in the basement.
That commercial is funny but it is also propaganda, I don't know anyone who sits in a basement all day and just smokes, and even if they do it is mostly because of him and not the drug.