Review of a Drug Ad: Parents Can Only Be the Anti-drug with True Support

My husband and I took our 4-year-old daughter and newborn son to the 2007 Oklahoma State Fair. Being new to the state, we surely appeared an odd curiosity to most people as they passed by-my husband limping on a cane pushing a large stroller carrying goodies, stuffed animals and an awestruck preschooler and myself wearing my newborn son in my pouch-styled sling stopping to nurse in public on occasion. As we made our way through the buildings full of booths hocking wares from all over Oklahoma, we happened upon a maze of boxes covered in candy. Taffy of all different flavors, gummy goodies and chocolate candy tantalized my taste buds and made my little girl's eyes twinkle. Toward the end of the maze there was a flyer sitting atop a pile of candy. It looked as though it were placed there to catch the eye of the parents who may pass through by another customer who had made the same trek. My husband, who believes that most anti-drug advertisements do more harm than good, made sure to pick up the flyer before some unsuspecting parent did. Later, after reading the advertisement and discussing its merits we crushed it into a trash ball and placed it under our stroller. That is exactly where I found it today.

The letter-sized paper ad is green with a large stamp imprint in the shape of a marijuana leaf. On the leaf is written, "if you are not telling them no/you are telling them YES" in yellow. At the top of the page, it reads:

"Communication with your teens can be a form of prevention. In fact, teens whose parents lay out rules and expectations for them are far less likely to try pot and other drugs. Be clear. Be firm. Be a parent."

The ad goes on to list numbers to call and a website to learn more. At the bottom of the page it states, "Parents. The Anti-Drug." It also has a local prevention group's phone number and the name of government agency that sponsored the ad. I can assume that a member of that group place the ad on the candy.