Flavorwire

Yesterday, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a high-level group that’s been studying drug usage and policing around the world, came to the somewhat unshocking conclusion that the war on drugs has utterly failed “with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.” Not only has the decades-long war cost world governments untold trillions of dollars, it has taken the lives of countless people, innocent and guilty alike, all while doing nothing to stop the global spread of illegal drugs. The comission, which includes former international presidents, U.S. Secretaries of State and Federal Chiefs, recommended that we simply stop fighting, legalize marijuana at the very least, and experiment with the legalization and regulation of other drugs.

In celebration of this news, we present you with a some of the best (and worst) anti-drug propaganda the media has to offer. We hope that future drug education takes on a tone that is less about fear-mongering and more about providing real facts, but while we wait for that to happen, we may as well laugh at the absurdity of these campaigns.

The 1960s was a wonderful time for anti-drug propaganda. The establishment, losing the deathgrip of conformity that was easily maintained in the ’50s, felt seriously threatened by the rising tide of counterculture, and they prepared plenty of PSAs to prove what kind of threats it posed. This one is especially convincing. It tells the tale of a woman tragically seduced into trying LSD, who now has to live forever with the guilt of murdering the father of a family of hot dogs.