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National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
Phase 1 (Report No. 1)
4. CASE STUDIES
Denver, Colorado
Two site visits have been made to Denver. The first baseline visit occurred during the week of December 15-19, 1998. The first followup visit took place during the week of March 23-27, 1998.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, was selected as a comparison site for Denver, Colorado, because both sites have similar demographic and community characteristics. The quantitative data collected from in-school surveys completed by students in both Denver and Albuquerque also showed similar patterns at baseline. These patterns, displayed in Exhibit 4-1 at the end of Section 4, further demonstrate that Albuquerque constitutes a reasonable comparison site for Denver. Exhibit 4-5 summarizes youth, parent, and community findings for both sites.
Further similarities between the two cities are evident: Both Denver and Albuquerque have experienced a rising methamphetamine problem in recent years and both communities have problems resulting from drugs flowing in from Mexico. The remainder of this report will describe key data collected in Denver at baseline and followup data collected there 3 months later, as well as key results collected in Albuquerque during the followup visit.
Baseline Picture
Ongoing Anti-Drug Activities in the Community
Several ongoing anti-drug efforts were reported in the Denver area. One local television affiliate has established the Yes-to-Youth Foundation. In November and December 1997, a reporter for another local station joined a former Bronco player to carry an anti-smoking campaign to 21 area high schools. Local cable channels, which have formed the Metro-Wide Communication Consortium, produced a 2-hour feature titled "Colorado's Teens: Society's Scapegoats?" in March 1997 and also created a series of eight PSAs that target the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs by children and youth. In January 1998, local television stations were scheduled to start carrying spots on "Asset Building," which includes prevention elements that would enable youth to reject drugs.
State and local government agencies currently fund an active network of prevention programs that are not necessarily focused on, but include substance abuse. Major State funding for these programs is provided by the Colorado Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (CADAD) and by the State's Community Partnership Office. This Office utilizes a community-based approach to asset building.
In addition to State agencies, the Colorado Trust recently funded a 5-year,
$10million project with the Search Institute, which operates Assets for Colorado Youth to support communities in their implementation of the Asset Building Model. The Safe and Drug Free School Program in the Denver area is heavily committed to the model.
The City of Denver has institutionalized prevention programs within its government structure. The Safe City Office, the District Attorney's Office, the Denver Juvenile Justice Integrated Treatment Network, and the Denver Housing Authority all operate primary or secondary prevention programs. The Safe City Office coordinates the SafeNite Curfew Program, administers the Mayor's Summer Youth Program, and sponsors the annual Safe City Youth Summit, conducted by the Colorado office of Just Say No. The Safe City Office also administers $1 million in grants to other prevention programs in the city.
Trends in the Denver Community
Denver is recognized as the drug distribution center in the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which includes Utah and Wyoming along with Colorado. Being a transportation nexus helps make Denver a drug trafficking center. Marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and crack-cocaine come into Denver from Mexico via the Southwest border states and California. In addition, marijuana is grown throughout Colorado and the vast extent of sparsely populated areas in the State creates a haven for methamphetamine labs.
The Community Epidemiologic Work Group (CEWG) reports indicate that methamphetamine use has increased steadily in Denver from 1992 to 1997, and that cocaine and marijuana have been the predominant drugs of choice from 1991 to 1995, as measured by the percentage of drug treatment admissions. Marijuana is said to be endemic in all areas of the State.
Drug Awareness and Behavior Reported by Youth and Parents
Separate focus groups were held with youth and parents. The most significant variable determining youth's attitudes toward drugs was found to be their age, not their neighborhood or urban/non-urban or race/ethnic differentiation. In elementary and early middle school, students typically would respond to questions about drug use as follows: "I'll never do it. It's bad."
Most children in the Denver area are said to learn about the risks and dangers of drug use through the D.A.R.E. program, which is usually presented in the 5th grade. Youth in 4th-6th grade focus groups confirmed that this is their primary source of information about drugs. The middle school children also learned about drugs through D.A.R.E., and continue to learn about drugs in health class. When asked how children their age learn about drugs, one urban youth responded: "They smoke it," referring to the fact that children 9 and 10 years old are smoking marijuana. Middle school youth have also seen people in their neighborhood using drugs and said they can get marijuana anywhere.
Inner-city and non-urban high school youth have learned about drugs through D.A.R.E.; older siblings, friends, and parents who use; and their own experimentation and use drugs. Some parents reportedly talk to their children about drugs, but "it depends on what kind of parents you've got" said one youth. Drugs are readily available at high school or on the streets. High school youth stated that alcohol is the main substance being used and that it can be obtained through older friends or siblings, by standing outside a liquor store and asking someone to buy, or by going to drive-through liquor stores where "they don't even card you." Parents stated they find it difficult to talk to their children about drugs and are concerned about how much their children are exposed to drugs.
Community Drug Problems as Perceived by Community Key Informants
Key informants in the Denver area perceived drug use/abuse as a big problem. One informant reported that approximately 30 percent of youth in the District Attorney's Juvenile Diversion Program are in treatment for substance abuse, many of them for chronic use of marijuana.
Marijuana heads the list of drugs of choice mentioned by the key informants, with alcohol and tobacco also frequently mentioned. Several sources said the biggest problem is now in middle school rather than high school. Younger children are perceived as starting with cigarettes, beer, and marijuana, and sometimes inhalants and prescription drugs like Ritalin. Older youth continue to smoke, drink, and use marijuana, and some are also experimenting with LSD, methamphetamine, and heroin.
An informant who works with youth observed that urban youth are likely to use beer, marijuana, and some crack-cocaine, while non-urban youth are frequently polydrug abusers. In the city heroin is called Black Tar, but it is dubbed China White in the suburbs. School personnel in non-urban communities on either side of the city say that drug abuse is "a problem for everybody," and that there may be differences in availability and cost, but "everything is everywhere."
Informants agreed that high school youth could obtain drugs very easily in the schools, especially marijuana. Drugs are also accessible to middle school children, especially if they have connections with older children.
Awareness of Anti-Drug Advertising Prior to the ONDCP Media Campaign
During the baseline site visit key informants in Denver were asked to describe any anti-drug ads they had heard on radio or seen on TV or in local newspapers and magazines. The majority of the informants were able to recall either the anti-drug ads by the PDFA or other similar ads on television or radio; however, one-third of the informants did not recall having seen or heard any of these ads in the past few months. Most informants believe that the ads are not shown frequently enough to have an impact and they were not sure that the ads made their audience more aware of the risks or dangers of drugs. Some felt that while the ads were a start, they will not impact those youth who are using. They also felt the ads were not harsh or graphic enough to be effective with youth.
Most of the informants felt the ads had the potential to change attitudes toward drugs, but only if they are produced in a certain way. Suggestions for the ads included using musicians or athletes who relate their experience with drugs; focusing on the consequences of drug use to the body, personal performance, and relationships; using teenagers talking to teenagers; targeting ads to the most at-risk population; and using ads as part of a larger campaign that would provide after-school programs and other activities for youth.
Intermediate Findings Reported After Initiation of the ONDCP Media Campaign
This section presents information on respondents' views of changes related to awareness/attitudes toward drugs in Denver since baseline and their awareness/views of the Media Campaign shortly after it had been implemented in their community.
Recent Local Events Affecting Awareness/Attitudes Toward Drugs
Key informants reported the following recent events that might influence youth and parent attitudes regarding drug use, as well as awareness of the Media Campaign: a major statewide debate regarding cigarette smoking on school campuses, the issue being that students are being forced to cross dangerous streets to smoke; testimony of West High School students before a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives concerning a policy of no advertising for tobacco products in or near the school; media attention focusing on a teacher and teacher's assistant having drug paraphernalia in one of the schools and giving it to several students; and a major debate in the State legislature over a proposed measure on needle exchange intended to prevent the spread of HIV.
Youths' and Parents' Reactions to the ONDCP Media Campaign
Separate focus groups were held with middle school students, high school students, and parents during the followup visit. Middle school youth were able to identify 16 anti-drug television ads and several radio ads (e.g., a guy who says "nah," and two boys smoking marijuana who can't remember anything) and billboards (e.g., "Are you waiting for your kids to ask you about marijuana?" and a woman before and after --
with no teeth). They understood the message of the ads and said they had seen the ads more frequently than before. They viewed the ads after school and during prime time, on major network channels as well as cable channels like MTV, ESPN, and BET. High school youth identified five specific ads and had similar responses.
The middle school children had mixed responses about whether the ads influenced the way they think about drugs or the issue of whether the ads would change other children's behavior. Some said the ads would not change the minds of those already using, but others felt that some ads "scare you out of doing it." The high school youth were unanimous in believing that the ads would not change people's minds.
Urban and non-urban parents identified seven anti-drug ads that were run on television, two on radio (e.g., 911, and another about marijuana in a friend's drawer), several in newspapers, and one on a billboard. They stated that they had heard or seen the ads more frequently than previously and that they watched them during prime time. Parents did not feel the ads had changed their ideas about young people using drugs (e.g., didn't change their thinking about how all kids are susceptible, that is can happen to any kid, etc.) but they said that some ads had stimulated discussion between them and their children.
Parents agreed that minority youth need minority role models and that minority-targeted media are more effective for minority youth. Native American parents from Denver said that anti-drug ads would have more impact if they were published in Native American-owned magazines and newspapers.
Key Informants' Responses to the ONDCP Media Campaign
Representatives of Denver's community organizations, interviewed during the baseline visit, were reinterviewed during the followup site visit to learn about their awareness and views regarding the Media Campaign. The majority of key informants were able to recall television ads (e.g., Frying Pan, one showing a mentor, one depicting an average kid, one describing another missed opportunity to talk to a child about drugs, and Deal) or radio ads (e.g., Girl Interview, one describing smoking marijuana in a friend's room, one that asks "When will you talk to your kids about marijuana?" and one that asks "Who will talk to your kids about marijuana if you don't?").
In addition, four ads had been seen in the newspapers (e.g., grandparents, marijuana cigarette, easier to talk to kids about sex than drugs, and not as big a problem as you think/little boy) and one person had seen the Cannabis Stupida billboard. The Prevention Resource Center, whose number is provided in the print ads, generally receives calls the day the ad appears in the newspaper. Only a few of the informants were able to recall sponsors of the Media Campaign.
The key informants had mixed views regarding the ability of the ads to change attitudes. Some offered suggestions to improve the ads such as the use of music and rap mixed with frank discussion. They also suggested broadcasting the ads more frequently and using intensive and long-term advertising.
Media Representatives' Reactions to the ONDCP Media Campaign
Representatives of the media in Denver were interviewed to obtain their assessment of the community's response to the Media Campaign. The Denver Post has run feature articles on local drug issues including methamphetamine use, which ONDCP Director Barry McCaffrey had emphasized on a recent visit.
The airtime for PSAs at the national television network local affiliate was influenced by a variety of factors including a PSA schedule that cannot be preempted and which takes into account the event, the partner, and the priority; ads that are often time-sensitive; and sponsors that are often guaranteed a certain amount of airtime. Other PSAs are broadcast as time is available, with ads from national organizations given low priority. At the Spanish-language television stations most PSAs come from national feeds, but some are local and are broadcast under contract. One of these stations devotes considerable energy to combating drug abuse. In addition to a campaign of 30-second spots, the station produces news specials on drugs (including interviews with youth and parents who have been on drugs), sponsors school-based anti-drug efforts, and sends representatives to visit schools to give talks to students.
The Media Campaign had no effect on the airing of PSAs at the national television network local affiliate because of the segregation of paid advertising from PSAs. The only additional anti-drug ads that were broadcast came via the regular spring rollout from PDFA. The Spanish-language television has run pro bono spots on a time-available basis in addition to the paid advertisements; otherwise no additional anti-drug ads have been provided by other sponsors. The Spanish-language radio station had not been approached about any spots to broadcast.
The network television affiliate is the only media outlet interviewed that systematically monitors responses to advertisements. The number of calls is reportedly greater if the ad provides a local or 800 number.
Followup Findings in Comparison Site of Albuquerque, New Mexico
While respondents in Denver and Albuquerque reported similar drug problems and concerns during the baseline visits, the youth, parents, and key community respondents in Albuquerque recounted different levels of awareness of drugs in the media during the followup visit 3 months later.
Several events had occurred in Albuquerque since the baseline visit that might have increased awareness of the drug problem: incidents of drug-related violence highlighted in the media; a battle in the State legislature over the proposal to close down drive-by windows at liquor establishments; an enforcement crackdown on DWI; the case of Gordon House whose sentencing appeal over a DWI fatal accident was publicized; and local activities timed to occur around the Bill Moyers TV special on addiction.
The key informants in Albuquerque had spotty recall of the ads in the media, and not all of the ads they did mention dealt with drugs. None of these informants could recall seeing any anti-drug messages in newspapers or magazines. Only one informant had heard an anti-drug message on the radio. Almost all of the informants said that the ads were not running with sufficient regularity, and some had to think back months to recall any ads. Most were not sure that the ads were effective or did not recall any ads that were particularly effective.
In focus groups with youth, elementary school children recalled some ads, but they were often older ads, ads focused on anti-smoking campaigns, or television programs or videos rather than ads.
Middle school youth had spotty recollection of ads. Urban high school youth remembered a few television ads and said that most radio ads focused on drunk driving. One youth said "Most commercials are old; they don't show them too much." Likewise, parents reported few anti-drug ads. Ads on Spanish television were more noticeable, although one parent said they focused more on issues of violence than drugs. A few non-urban parents remembered alcohol spots on the radio, but urban parents could not recall any in this medium.
Summary of Intermediate Findings
In Denver, one of the 12 target markets for the Media Campaign, the majority of the key informants were able to recall a variety of television, radio, and newspaper ads, and to a lesser extent, billboard ads after the initiation of the Media Campaign. In focus groups with youth and parents, participants were able to identify many television, radio, billboard, and newspaper ads and were able to comprehend the messages in these ads. Middle school youth and parents stated that ads were appearing more frequently than previously. Parents felt that the ads stimulated discussion between them and their children. Key informants, parents, and youth were able to provide many recommendations about how to improve the ads in the future.
In Albuquerque, the comparison site that received no intervention, there was very little awareness of any change in anti-drug messages or of the Media Campaign from the time of baseline data collection to the followup 3 months later. Key informants were not able to recollect anti-drug ads in television, newspapers, or magazines. They stated that such ads ran infrequently and they did not think that the existing ads were effective. Additionally, in focus groups of youth and parents did not recall many anti-drug ads.
