positve drug media

NORML (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) is a not-for-profit organization that lobbies for legalization of recreational and medicinal use of marijuana. This is because they believe that prohibition hurts lives of thousands of everyday people who just smoke pot. According to the website:

Why should we decriminalize or legalize marijuana?
As President Jimmy Carter acknowledged: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."

Marijuana prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of literally hundreds of thousands of good, hard-working, productive citizens each year in this country. More than 700,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges last year, and more than 5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the past decade. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime.

"The NORML Foundation's mission is to educate the public about the costs of marijuana prohibition and the benefits of alternative policies, to undertake research into various aspects of marijuana and marijuana policy implication, and to provide legal support and assistance to victims of the current laws."

Another organization that advocates for sensisible drug policy is the DPA Network (Drug Policy Allaince Network). They believe that the war on drugs is more harmful to society than beneficial. They work on lobbying for policy against prohibition and also the misuse of drugs.

The DPA Network supports other activists as well such as Steven Soderbergh, film maker of American Drug War. Baylen Linnekin wrote an article which is posted on the DPA Network's website which praises the film and highlights the negative portrayal the media has on drugs and drug culture. Baylen says, "Steven Soderbergh's multilayered reproach of the drug war was the most complete look to date at the horrible consequences of U.S. drug policy. Critics hailed Traffic as the first U.S. film to portray buyers and sellers on both sides of the U.S. border as victims of the drug war. The film, stocked with A-list stars and featuring surprising cameos from Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, liberal pundit Michael Kinsley, and others, served to bring the drug war debate out of the political ethos and into the world of pop culture. The success of the film in turn fueled political debate around the drug war."

So in conclusion, instead of using scare tactics in order to try to control society into not using drugs, it would be advisable to pass drug policy that is more sensible in order to reduce harm and help people. However, the drug war is endlessly fundable and creates endless revenue so I don't see our government doing anything to stop it. Besides if we did stop it then we wouldn't have all of these anti-drug ads to make us laugh.