The Funniest Anti-Marijuana Commercials of All Time
Check Out These Hilariously Out of Touch 90s Cannabis PSAs
You may have learned about weed through a poorly-crafted anti-drug program in elementary school, or through a dreadful commercial during your Saturday morning cartoon binge. If so, it’s no wonder why you love weed so much now. Those commercials were terrible!
With overdramatic storylines and corny messaging, anti-marijuana PSAs have been the laughing stock of the stoner community for decades. Here, we’ve picked some of our favorite anti-drug duds to laugh at.
The “Flat” Ad
Surely, millennials will remember this commercial. This PSA by Above the Influence features a girl named Sarah who tries cannabis and, as a result, becomes flattened. This is obviously a metaphor for a stereotype that cannabis consumers often face: we become lazy and lifeless when we’re high.
The sight of a flattened girl on the couch is admittedly a pretty funny sight. But the overdramatic portrayal of a stoned teen is too unbelievable for anyone to get on board.
The TMNT Ad
This PSA from the 80s gets weirder by the second. It starts with a kid trying to convince a classmate to smoke pot. “Pot… you know, marijuana,” he dares. “Are you chicken?”
The other classmate responds with a truly bizarre comeback: “I’m not a chicken, and you’re a turkey.” Decades have gone by and we still don’t know what he meant by this. Anyway, a surprise cameo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes next. We can see why an ad aimed at children would use popular cartoon characters, but couldn’t they have picked someone more believable? There’s no way those pizza-loving turtles haven’t hot-boxed the entirety of the sewer system in New York City.
The Disappointed Dog Ad
If this ad is any indication of what life would be like if dogs could talk, then we’re glad they can’t. This 2000’s commercial relies on a quirky animation style to illustrate a conversation between a man and his dog. The dog becomes frustrated with the man’s cannabis habit and tells him, “you disappoint me.” Aside from pushing the stereotype that people who use cannabis can’t maintain strong relationships, the ad also accomplishes nothing more than encouraging weed users to be ashamed.
The Townspeople Ad
This commercial comes across like a comedy sketch, but it was actually a real effort to dissuade parents from becoming too lenient. The ad shows what it would be like if adults were offered weed as much as kids supposedly are. The problem with this ad is that the adults come off looking really cool. We’d love to smoke a joint with Aunt Glenda at brunch!
BONUS: Pee-wee Herman says “Don’t do Crack”
While technically not an anti-cannabis PSA, we couldn’t resist not adding this classic commercial to our list. There’s nothing funny about crack, but we can’t help but laugh watching 80s kids TV icon, Pee-wee Herman sitting in a dark room with ominous music playing in the background as he gets super serious about how drugs just aren’t cool.
