Public Service Advertisements

Is Truth a Casualty of the Drug War?

The Public Service Advertisements below ran from 1999 to 2007, focusing on misinformation in the drug war.

The Common Sense public information campaign carefully quoted credible research and leading authorities so as to provide the public with reliable information and to better inform the debate on drug policy. CSDP's PSAs ran in Reason, The American Prospect, The National Review, The Nation, The New Republic, and The Progressive.

Please note: These PSAs may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission and with or without attribution provided the meaning is faithfully maintained.

062	Canada Trumps USA: Approves Cannabis-Based Medicine	Canada Trumps USA: Approves Cannabis-Based Medicine. On April 19, 2005, the Canadian government gave conditional approval to prescription sale of a medicine made from extracts of marijuana plants ingested as an oral spray. It is time our officials take off their "drug war" blinders and recognize marijuana for what it is: a natural, relatively benign substance that can help bring relief to millions. Camera-ready copy of this PSA also available in Portable Document Format (PDF).
061	US Meddling in Global AIDS Crisis	"US Meddling in Global AIDS Crisis: A Triumph of Ideology Over Science." In spite of overwhelming evidence of the success of harm reduction strategies at reducing transmission of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases, the US government is shutting off support to international programs which support needle exchanges and other proven harm reduction techniques. This PSA is also available in Portable Document Format (PDF).
060	Thirty Attorneys General speak out on pain management!	"Thirty Attorneys General speak out on pain management!" In January 2005, thirty state attorneys general wrote the DEA to express their concern about the DEA's abrupt withdrawal of federal pain management prescription guidelines, noting that "Many physicians fear investigations and enforcement actions if they prescribe adequate levels of opioids or have many patients with prescriptions for pain medications." This PSA also available in camera-ready Portable Document Format (PDF).
059	Do our drug laws focus on the truly dangerous drugs?	Do our drug laws focus on the truly dangerous drugs? This PSA first appeared in The New Republic on September 13, 1999. The PSA compares the danger of various popular drugs - based on data developed by Dr. Jack Henningfield for NIDA. Available in printer-ready Portable Document Format (PDF).
058	To Convict One Doctor, Zealots At DEA Tore Up Pain Guidelines	To Convict One Doctor, Zealots At DEA Tore Up Pain Guidelines Developed Over Four Years. Last August, after an historic collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the University of Wisconsin's Pain & Policy Studies Group, the DEA published new and widely applauded Pain Management Guidelines intended to protect physicians from prosecution by overzealous federal agents. In October the DEA suddenly withdrew the Guidelines, effectively trashing years of effort. This PSA is also available in camera-ready PDF.
057	The Feds Say They Want Scientific Proof That Marijuana Is Medicine	The Feds Say They Want Scientific Proof That Marijuana Is Medicine, But Do They? NIDA has a monopoly on the supply of marijuana that can be used for research. The Institute seems to be using that monopoly to obstruct the very research they're supposed to be facilitating. So some scientists are suing the DEA, NIDA, Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health for "unreasonable delay" resulting in the obstruction of scientific research. Science should be in the hands of scientists, not political ideologues. This PSA is also available in camera-ready PDF.
056	Good News and Bad News About Pain Treatment	Good News and Bad News About Pain Treatment. The good news about pain treatment: The DEA recently posted new guidelines on their website to stop the unjustified harassment and prosecution of pain doctors. The bad news about pain treatment: Two months later the DEA deleted the guidelines, citing unspecified "misstatements." This PSA is also available as a camera-ready PDF.
055	Drug Policy Should Be Based On Science, Not Politics	Drug Policy Should Be Based On Science, Not Politics. The US Drug Czar, John Walters, is still trying to scare people with the myth of hyper-potent marijuana. Yet, research -- including a new study from the European Union's drug monitoring agency, proves 'it ain't so'. This PSA is also available as a camera-ready PDF.
054	Justice for all	Justice for all? Richard Paey, 45-year-old father of three, is wheelchair bound, a subdermal pump delivering a steady flow of morphine to kill the back pain from a 1985 car crash. A legitimate pain patient, he was arrested because he was forced to use questionable pain prescriptions to take care of his condition. He was sentenced to years in prison because he refused to be forced into drug treatment. Rush Limbaugh was arrested for buying large quantities of Oxy and other narcotics on the black market. Though he started with treating back pain, Mr. Limbaugh's use of narcotics continued long after the pain was gone. After five weeks of rehab, Rush was back on the air. Neither should be put in prison. This PSA also available as camera-ready PDF.
053	Hands off our medical marijuana	On Sept. 23, 2002, Mike and Valerie Corral's medical marijuana hospice near Santa Cruz, CA, was raided just before dawn by federal agents. The raid sparked outrage from Santa Cruz officials because the co-op was a text book example of what CA's medical marijuana laws were supposed to allow: a safe place for the sick and dying, with a common marijuana garden, where the patients could care for each other. On April 21, US Circuit Court Judge Jeremy Fogel barred the Justice Dept. from interfering with the Corrals, their 250 fellow patients, or their marijuana garden. This PSA is also available in camera-ready PDF.