Between 1998 and 2004, Congress, using taxpayer money, gave $1.2 billion to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to fund their national anti-drug media campaign. According to the Government Accountability Office, their billion dollar advertising effort has not worked. The report said "exposure to the advertisements generally did not lead youth to disapprove of using drugs and may have promoted perceptions among exposed youth that others' drug use was normal." Ouch. Of course, The White House disagreed with the findings saying that "teen drug use is down dramatically over the past four years in exactly the demographics targeted by the campaign." The report ultimately recommends that Congress limit funding until the Office of National Drug Control Policy "provides credible evidence of a media campaign approach that effectively prevents and curtails youth drug use." Sounds like an opportunity for me to pitch our custom research capabilities among teens.
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