D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) has demonstrated that there is such a lack of anti-cannabis information in the media these days, it’s easier to simply use satire instead.
The anti-marijuana article in question — ‘Edible Marijuana Candies Kill 9 in Colorado, 12 at Coachela‘ — was originally posted on the satire news site topekanews.com. D.A.R.E. posted a copy of the article to its website on March 30, where it remained for close to a month before controversy sparked the organization to remove the falsified news story.
The article describes a scenario where candies made of “sweetened Jello, vodka and minced marijuana” have taken the black market by storm, somehow resulting in a string of binge-related overdoses. According to the author, four teenagers get pregnant every time someone smokes a joint — the author also claims that cannabis is “one of the most dangerous drugs on Earth.”
The absurdity of these claims is surely enough to spark a smile for someone who is at all familiar with cannabis, but as a taxpayer-funded representative of safe drug choices, D.A.R.E. has demonstrated an undeniable disconnect with the reality that is modern marijuana use.
D.A.R.E. America Regional Director John Lindsay did say that the article was an accident, and that he was sorry. “This article slipped through our filter,” he said. “Listen; stuff happens, and you can quote me on that.”
Sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/04/d-a-r-e-gets-duped-by-anti-pot-satire/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-reiman/dare-program-marijuana_b_7215854.html
http://illegallyhealed.com/when-it-comes-to-fake-facts-about-cannabis-d-a-r-e-says-stuff-happens/
Photo Credit: Tim Cigelske
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