A very powerful ad campaign from Montana about the dangers of meth use (thanks to Mike at addictiontomorrow for exposing me to it). Like most advertising, and indeed most media presentations of drug users, the content is a little too stylized, but the point is pretty clear.
I would like to point out that while there isn’t necessarily any research that shows that a single use of meth can lead to addiction, we do know that even using meth for a short while can have serious long term effects on the way the brain functions. This is especially true when talking about some basic learning mechanisms in the brain that affect our ability to change our behavior (look for a post on this shortly)
4 responses to “Montana Meth”
Hey there! Glad to see you liked my post; my name is Mike though, not Tom! Hope all is well. Keep up the good work!
I wonder how different the images would be if instead of (the worst examples they could find of) jailed meth addicts they were before and after pictures of (the worst examples they could find of) jailed alcohol addicts?
If you took before and after images of average meth addicts from middle class or upper class environments, how much of a difference would there be?
ooops I assumed this was the faces of meth campaign which I didn’t particularly want to watch again!
These kind of commercials probably work when it comes to relatively healthy people who might consider using meth, but I wonder about people who already have emotional problems? What if you are someone who looks at those adds and feels like your life is already as screwed up as the people in the videos? Are the adds for these people a reminder that they could be just as screwed up, but have a drug that the adds tell them helps them escape?
In my own experience I became fascinated with drugs first through a drug education poster on my classroom wall in fourth grade, and my interest was continued through dare in fifth grade
ooops I assumed this was the faces of meth campaign which I didn’t particularly want to watch again!
These kind of commercials probably work when it comes to relatively healthy people who might consider using meth, but I wonder about people who already have emotional problems? What if you are someone who looks at those adds and feels like your life is already as screwed up as the people in the videos? Are the adds for these people a reminder that they could be just as screwed up as they already feel they are, but have a drug that the adds tell them helps them escape?
In my own experience I became fascinated with drugs first through a drug education poster on my classroom wall in fourth grade, and my interest was continued through dare in fifth grade (it was the description of LSD that really blew my mind – the philosophical and neurological ramifications of psychedelics still amaze me).
Luckily I compulsively read about drugs rather than compulsively take them (ok, I admit I’m addicted to everone’s favorite phosphodiesterase inhibitor, caffeine).