Drug Czar Strikes Again

Ronald Bailey | January 23, 2003

I was enjoying a bit of baby boomer nostalgia watching The Big Chill on Bravo last night when the ubiquitous propaganda arm of Office of National Drug Control Policy struck again. After a scene in which the 7 reunited college buddies are all companionably getting stoned and drunk, the ONDCP ran one of its hyperbolic dishonest anti-drug commercials. It was pathetic. After all, the Big Chill group consisted of a bunch of successful people, a doctor, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a journalist, a TV star, a suburban mom, and yes, a psych major turned hapless near-do-well drug dealer driving a beat up Porsche who is redeemed by his friends. Drugs don't destroy lives nearly as much as pointless drug wars do.

Comments

Mark Harden|1.23.03 @ 1:58AM|#

After all, the Big Chill group consisted of a bunch of successful people, a doctor, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a journalist, a TV star, a suburban mom...

Um, no. The Big Chill group consisted of a bunch of actors portraying successful people, a doctor, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a journalist, a TV star, a suburban mom.

Keep your realities straight, dude.

|1.23.03 @ 2:23AM|#

See? There's the problem with drugs. It leaves people unable to separate fantasy and reality.

;-))

Steve

Warren|1.23.03 @ 2:42AM|#

HA! good one Steve.

The WOD is deeply evil. State sponsored false propaganda is one of it's lesser sins. With all the serious damage to liberty done every day in the drug war, juxtaposing it with Hollywood camp strikes me as trite.