New York-based audio post and content production company HOBO has unveiled its latest TV/Internet PSA spot designed to expose the federal government’s handling of marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, considered the most dangerous. The PSA will be available to grassroots organizations for use on websites, social networks and during live community events. A version of the spot will target states such as Ohio where marijuana legalization measures are on the ballot.
Entitled “Very Presidential,” the PSA is part of HOBO’s on-going “End Prohibition Now” campaign and includes quotes from former President Richard Nixon as he rails against his own committee’s findings that marijuana is less harmful than previously thought. Nixon was enraged to learn his panel had recommended decriminalizing as well legalizing it for personal use. All the quotes in the spot were transcribed directly from the secret Nixon White House recordings.
“When we started this effort, we knew it would be a long haul because it takes time to build an effective campaign, especially on a controversial subject such as this,” said HOBO founder/president Howard Bowler. “Our first round of TV and radio PSAs were well received by organizations like NORML, Marijuana Policy Project and Drug Policy Alliance, who shared them with thousands via their large social media networks. This latest spot fills in another piece of the puzzle by examining the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ specifically marijuana, from a political perspective.”
Digging deep into this issue, Bowler has discovered a number of alarming facts, not least of which is the fact that while the current head of the DEA fights to keep marijuana a schedule 1 drug, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services holds a patent on the medical use marijuana. The patent states marijuana is “particularly advantageous” in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.
Bowler explained that while he got into this to help bring these astonishing facts to light, a professional offshoot has been discovering the talent within HOBO to write, produce, direct and score powerful and effective spots.
“It’s gratifying to help organizations that are working tirelessly toward the same goal, and who very much need access to creative resources like the ones we offer,” Bowler said. “It’s an exciting time to be on the frontlines of this issue. As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, if we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.”
