United Nations' Drug War Satirized in Ad Featuring President Clinton at the General Assembly

Washington, D.C.­­ Common Sense for Drug Policy aired an advertisement featuring President Bill Clinton with the speech he ought to deliver before the United Nations stating some obvious truths: the war on drugs is not being won and it will never succeed.

The advertisement was shown on Cable News Network, Headline News and CNBC in New York City and Washington, D.C. It broadcast 104 times from June 4 - 8th.

The ad was broadcast to coincide with President Clinton,s appearance before the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drug Control Policy on June 8. The goal of the special session is creating a "Drug Free World." A voice imitating Clinton says what he should tell the UN.

Kevin Zeese, President of Common Sense for Drug Policy, said this about his organization's opposition to the existing UN drug control policy:

"Rather than employing effective drug control policies, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on policies that spread HIV/AIDS to the general public, incarcerate hundreds of thousands of non-violent offenders and fail to prevent adolescent drug use.

President Clinton should discourage the rest of the world from following this failed policy. The only thing we learned from the US experience was a drug war, a law enforcement-based drug strategy, does not work."

The script for the advertisement.

VIDEO: Clinton walking into UN and then speaking at podium

VOICE OVER: On June 8, the President Clinton will be addressing the United Nations about the war on drugs, this is what he should say:

[Voice imitating Clinton is out of sync with his speaking]

"Do you think the war on drugs is a complete failure? I do.

Do you think if we spend more money we'll win? Forget it!

We're wasting 17 billion dollars a year now. And, because we put hundreds of thousands of people in prison for drug offenses, prisons are so full we put violent criminals out on the street.

Heck, we're causing more crime than we're stopping!

Isn't it time for a drug policy based on Common Sense?"

Paid for by Common Sense for Drug Policy

(You can download a video of the ad in *.mpeg format here - 7 meg file)