LIARS:  THE ONDCP LETTER TO PROSECUTORS AND THE 2005 NORML TRUTH REPORT

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (otherwise known as the drug czar's office) has and continues to spread information about marijuana that it knows is false and misleading. This letter, full of outright lies, was sent to local prosecutors throughout the United States, in an effort to persuade them to step up prosecution efforts against marijuana offenders.

Fortunately, NORML released a point-by-point refutation of the misinformation contained in the ONDCP's letter, which debunks some of the most common lies and myths that you hear today regarding marijuana.  Note how NORML's refutation is properly foot-noted, while the ONDCP's letter asks you to take them at their word.

THIEVES: THE SUPER BOWL AD DEBACLE

The ONDCP's ad campaigns during the Super Bowl are probably well known to you.  What is less well known is that the ad company hired to create the ads overbilled the government for more than 3,100 hours worth of work.  Although the "error" was discovered in 2002, the government continued to pay the firm for another three years.   

In an ironic twist, a study commissioned by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that tested the effectiveness of the ads on teens over four years found that "Those who were more exposed to the Campaign tended to move more markedly in a 'pro-drug' direction as they aged than those who were exposed less." (link here)   

Here's a great quote on that subject, from another article: "The Annenberg Public Policy Center for the University of Pennsylvania found the five-year-old program has had no favorable effects on youths' attitudes or drug use. In some cases, authors noted that repeated viewing of the ads might even stimulate the use of certain drugs."

Just in case you were wondering, the government had spent a total on $1.2 billion on the campaign since 1997 as of February 2005.