When stoned at the dinner table the struggle is all too real for Stoner Sloth.
Health officials in Australia have turned to a human-sized sloth in effort to raise awareness among teens “of the risks and consequences of using recreational cannabis.”
The social media-based campaign, dubbed You’re Worse on Weed, features Stoner Sloth in a variety of situations while apparently under the influence of pot.
The videos – which are being heavily criticized online – show Stoner Sloth assume the role of a teenager who is unable to complete an exam or interact with friends at a party.
Stoner Sloth can’t even figure out how to pass the salt while at the dinner table.
On Facebook and Tumblr, the campaign features a variety GIFs and messages.
“When you realise you should have hit the books and not the bong,” reads a post with the campaign title as a hashtag.
“When your mate got blazed but isn’t blazing through the exam,” reads another post.
However, the campaign funded by the New South Wales state government has been criticized by health officials.
Australia’s National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) has distanced itself from the campaign, saying the centre was “involved only prior to campaign development commencing.”
“At the NSW Government’s request, NCPIC provided an initial basic analysis of other cannabis harms campaigns from Australia and around the world and general recommendations,” NCPIC said in a statement. “In this case, those general recommendations were things like being aware that teenagers are intelligent and have access to a lot of information, so campaign approaches should respect them and give them credit by avoiding hyperbole.”
“While we wish the NSW Government luck in future cannabis campaigns, the current Stoner Sloth campaign doesn’t reflect NCPIC views on how cannabis harms campaigns should be approached, as was implied by the media,” NCPIC said.
The New South Wales government defended the campaign, saying it was designed to be “shareable.”
“The ‘stoner sloth’ public awareness campaign has been designed to encourage positive behaviours in young people before bad habits start, and motivate discontinued use of cannabis before they become dependent,” officials said in a statement. “The campaign is designed to appeal to, and be ‘shareable’ among, teenagers who are some of the most vulnerable to cannabis use.”
Premier of New South Wales Mike Baird seemed confused by his government’s campaign.
Here’s a look at some of the reaction.
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