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.

What I find interesting is the inherit view on parent-child relationships found in this ad. It advises to be a firm disciplinarian so that your children will know your expectations and rules. The idea that one must be strict when approaching the topic of drugs with a teenager puts me in a state of awe. Would not being open to an educated discussion work as well? Listening to your children's thoughts on the topic and providing information that is backed by research and facts work to educate teenagers. At this age, one of the most important tenants of a parent-child relationship is to tell the truth-not only the child but the parent. If a teenager questions a parent's credibility, an argument loses its power.

Community is defined in a more subtle way in this advertisement. The government steps up to help parents raise their children in a "right and moral way" as defined by the government itself. What if after doing all the research a parent decides that marijuana usage is not as bad as the media and government make it out to be? What if the parents decide that under certain circumstances marijuana usage is a personal decision for the teenager to come to on their own? How do they teach their children to comply with a law they feel is unjust?

In this respect, I feel as though the government demonstrates a view that parents can not be trusted to make the right decision for their family. It also discounts the many families that practice attachment parenting or parents who see their children as not something that needs to be "controlled". This ad is directed to more mainstream parents in the United States of America who may or may not be educated in the risks of drug usage.

Although I may take personal offense at the way the ad portrays the proper way of parenting, I like the advice given for communicating with your teenager. Communication in general goes a long way in opening up a child to speaking about taboo topics and fostering a parental relationship. Prevention comes from not only being comfortable speaking with your parent about situations that are confusing to you, but being able to trust that parent's word.

Learning to communicate also cultivates the skills necessary for socializing in a larger society. By practicing within their family unit, a child learns how to read other people's verbal and nonverbal cues and formulate feedback. Communication skills build community. Without communication, a community can not exist.

The underlying assumptions in this advertisement are that parents must be told how to raise children, that the government knows what is best regarding marijuana usage even without giving proof of that knowledge and that parents today raised children who walk all over them. I have already addressed the first topic. The second regarding governmental knowledge is a bit trickier. Nowhere on this ad is there any real substantial information on the effects of marijuana on the body or mind. It assumes that we, as a society, already know the dangers of marijuana and focuses on spreading the message about teen awareness instead. The statement "teens whose parents lay out ground rules and expectations for them are far less likely to try pot and other drugs" has no journal citation or reference at all. We are to take the advertisement on its word alone. Advertisers, even governmental agencies who advertise, would not attempt to persuade or mislead you, right? That is the very definition of an advertisement-to change the way you think about a certain topic. We just assume that they have good intentions.

Last, it assumes that if given the chance to be their own person, teenagers will walk all over you. "If you are telling them no, you are telling them yes" scares any parent with teens. A teen's sullen attitude, rebellious streak and internal drive scare parents who just want their children to be safe and happy. Controlling parents are the first thing that pushes a child into a sense of reckless rebellion. Educating a teenage child on the pros and cons of marijuana usage and letting them make up their own minds on the topic solidify that decision greater than any amount of parental control. "Be firm" in your beliefs. "Be firm" in your attitude towards life. "Be firm" in your integrity of word. Do not let that firmness carry over to your children in a state of "father-knows-best".

Now that I am reanalyzing the advertisement, I am realizing why I crumpled it into a ball in the first place. The advertisement gives no concrete evidence to back up its claims and uses scare tactics on already worn down parents of teenage children. We wanted to make sure that no other parent picked up this advertisement. We wanted to make sure it didn't get in the hands of children. Last, it wasn't funny enough or clever enough to make it to our wall. As a parent of children who will one day grow up and become teenagers, the prospect of governmental media propaganda on any topic pertaining to the young adult age is unnerving.

I want my children to one day be able to come to me in an open and honest conversation concerning drugs, alcohol and sex. Though, I beg the stars, not all at once. I want to foster a deeper understanding between parent and child. Power roles are important to community building, in that they prepare for roles in the larger community. I want to foster community within my children's heart not just for the community's good, but for my children's internal peace. If they are at peace within themselves they will seek peace outside of themselves. If there are only peace seekers wandering the earth, what use is war? And where there is no unnecessary war, there is greater community and personal prosperity.