Television Campaigns and Sensation Seeking Targeting of Adolescent Marijuana Use: A Controlled Time Series Approach

Campaigns directed at the prevention of drug abuse and other unhealthy behaviors often have relied on the mass media as the primary vehicle for disseminating prevention messages (Flay & Sobel, 1983; Rogers & Storey, 1987; Schilling & McAllister, 1990; Wallack, 1989). A current example is the largest drug abuse prevention effort in history, the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) 5-year, $2 billion National Youth AntiDrug Media Campaign. The campaign is a multimedia effort that also seeks to stimulate community-based programs, but its central component is the targeted dissemination of televised antidrug ads and public service announcements (PSAs).