Tripping up

New government adverts warning of the dangers of cannabis are so comically patronising they will not deter users, says Richard Morris Guardian Tuesday January 27, 2004

Alright, I admit it. I was a teenage pothead. In fact, to tell the truth, I was still puffing my way through a fair amount of the demon weed well into my early 20s. All my friends were keen cannabis connoisseurs, and whereas our more alcohol-inclined pals would spend their spare time in pubs and clubs, we would gather in each others' front rooms with our Playstations, cups of tea and packs of cards.

Occasionally we would be inspired to create bizarre contraptions designed to carry the smoke from a spliff into our lungs in the most dramatic (and often uncomfortable) manner possible. Sometimes we would paint and draw. We once got so creative we put tin foil over our telly and poked holes in it, marvelling at the way the light from the widescreen gogglebox ebbed and flowed behind its silver surface. Mainly we got stoned and talked utter gibberish.

But it was fun, and we certainly did nobody any harm. On the contrary, I'm sure we did much to boost the local home-delivered fast food industry and should the knowledge of vital matters of trivia - such as the names of the large, stupid, furry monsters from Fraggle Rock (Gorgs), or the delicious Slush Puppy-style drink served by Apu the shopkeeper in The Simpsons (squishies) - ever have become a major life skill we would have been hugely useful members of the population.

This was a youth subculture with its own rules, slang and methods of communication, most of which would have been completely impenetrable to those who had never experienced "whiteys" or enjoyed "munchies" after inhaling a little too much purple haze for their own good.

That is presumably why the government - with its new radio adverts warning "the kids" that the drug is still illegal despite it's recent reclassification from Class B to Class C - has chosen to attempt to speak to youngsters on their own terms by getting an actor to intone a series of slang names for cannabis.

In the ads, which call on youngsters to access the government's Frank education website to find out about the dangers of the drug, a woman intones: "Marijuana, ashes, African, bazooka, blonde, blue sage, bud, broccoli, brown, Buddha, bullyon, cheeba, Colombian, Don Juan, hash, J, jive stick, jolly green, kiff, killer, Panama gold, parsley, roach, straw, wheat, Texas T, locoweed. Call it what you like, just don't call it legal."

Finally a male voice reminds us that cannabis is "still illegal, still harmful, and you can still get a criminal record that may affect your future career or holiday plans."

Goodness knows where the ad agency responsible for these names did its research, but if anyone in the UK has ever referred to cannabis cigarettes as "jive sticks" then they must have been doing so with tongue so firmly in cheek that they risked pushing it right through and out the other side of their mouth.

But hey, perhaps I'm just behind the times. Maybe, just maybe, there are corners of this fair island where reefers are forever known as "bazookas" and a bag of grass is called "locoweed". Perhaps it's just me that thinks calling a spliff a "Don Juan" is both bizarre and inappropriately literary for such a relaxed, unassuming culture. Even should this be true, there is no way these phrases are common currency, and the use of all them is incredibly patronising.

continues


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The Office ... wins a Golden Globe
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles, Tuesday January 27, 2004, The Guardian

The Office won the Golden Globe for best comedy and Gervais took the prize for best actor in a comedy. It was a triumph for the show which has become a cult hit in the United States where an American version is already under way.

David Brent, the character portrayed with such painful accuracy by Ricky Gervais in his comedy series, The Office, loves nothing more than deserved recognition for his many talents.

'I'm from a little place called England. We used to run the world before you' - Gervais collecting his award.

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MAD PRIDE is committed to ending discrimination against psychiatric patients, promoting survivor equality and celebrating Mad culture. WHAT IS MAD PRIDE? Mad Pride is an idea which came out of the 1997 Gay Pride Festival in London. A few survivors of the mental health system said "we could do with a festival like this". And so a motley collection of individuals got together and slowly started organising themselves so as to put on events. These Mad Pridesters did some research on the Name and Aims of the thing. Then they set about forming a non-profit-distributing company to develop MAD PRIDE. In 1999, they organised a series of gigs and concerts.

Mad Pride now sees itself as part of the newest (but probably not the last) Civil Rights movement. Mad hey?