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Samantha Weyker

Olivia Stoltman

English 110

30 October 2018

Double Perspective

Every social issue has two sides. Some people support the issue and others are against it.

Marijuana use has been a controversial subject for many years. The arguments have become so

popular that we hear about them during elections for government. Advertisement also became

involved by producing ads that show the different sides and effects of using marijuana. These ads

have different audiences that have very different views on marijuana. Focusing on the audience’s

feelings and beliefs without crossing any lines is a challenge that telemarketers deal with every

time an advertisement is produced. Advertisements have become very important when it comes

to influencing the people who are not educated in the issue at hand.

The ads that support the use of marijuana are looked at very different depending on the

audience. One advertisement that stands out has a dark navy-blue colored background with bold

white font. Jennifer Aniston sits in the middle with crossed legs and crossed arms. In this

advertisement she is wearing, blue jeans and a white tank top. Her face is calm and relaxed while

her mouth is slightly smirking. The white font quotes Aniston saying, “I enjoy smoking cannabis

and see no harm in it”. This ad targets the people against the issue, while also targeting the

younger generation due to the prominence of Jennifer Aniston in popular culture that most young

people recognize. According to the National Institution on Drug Abuse, “Its use is more

prevalent among men than women—a gender gap that widened in the years 2007 to 2014”. With

this ad showing a female actress the audience could shift to women by showing women that it is
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acceptable since a prominent woman in society is also using cannabis. With this statistic showing

that men are more likely to use marijuana than women the ad could be trying to promote women

to use it more. With the recent argument of the legalization of the drug the perspective on

marijuana has changed. High school teens have been influenced dramatically with this new

argument. Studies show that teens in 11th and 12th grades were more likely to use the drug than

those who were in 9th and 10th grade (Parker-Pope). The promotion of this ad with a well-known

actress will likely increase the probability that young people will begin to use cannabis more

often and at possibly even younger ages.

This ad is trying to promote that marijuana does not only have negative effects but also

has many positive effects as well. The purpose is that the use of marijuana is not harmful and

that it does not necessarily stop success. Marijuana use is looked down on by most of society

because of misrepresentation showing only the negative side. Society believes that only dead

beats and drug addicts smoke marijuana, and it can lead to more drug problems and more

frequent use later in life. While most people do not understand that marijuana has many positives

effects as well. One example of a positive effect that marijuana use can have is the treatment of

chronic pain. Marijuana has been proven to show positive results with patients that suffer from

chronic pain which is the leading cause of disability (Railton). Clinical Psychology Review

found some “evidence supporting the use of marijuana to relieve depression and post-traumatic

stress disorder symptoms” which both impact many people (Railton, Medical News Today).

Many pharmaceutical drugs that treat these things are highly addictive and have many negative

side effects that for many are unpleasant for the patient. The audience that supports the use of

marijuana feels misunderstood when using the drug because the opposition only sees what is
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presented due to the negative effects. Jennifer Aniston made a successful living while using

marijuana.

One problem with this ad is that many people could believe that Jennifer Aniston could

be doing this ad strictly for the monetary benefits and not because she actually believes in the use

of cannabis. According to Pew Research Center, “About six-in-ten Americans (62%) say that the

use of marijuana should be legalized” (Hartig). This leaves about 38% of people that do not

believe that marijuana use should be legalized. These 38% of people could be great fans of

Aniston until this ad was produced and due to the ad they may lose respect for her work and

success in life. These stats show that she could lose a large amount of her fan base due to this

controversial issue. The opposing audience most likely felt shocked when this ad came out

because the news of Aniston’s confession was not one that many expected because most people

do not expect a successful, beautiful women to be using marijuana. The bold statement was

surprising coming from such a successful actress. The limitations to this ad are that many of the

people that are older than Aniston will still feel the same way about marijuana because she is not

as prominent of a popular culture figure as Aniston is to the younger generation. If the ad

company wanted to change the audience, they could have put someone that the older generation

would relate to more in the picture to show the older generations that marijuana use does not

affect health overall. These changes could make a large impact on society as a whole proving

that people who use marijuana still live a long and healthy life.

The dark background color makes for a very relaxed feeling which goes along with the

advertisement’s intentions. Also, the position the actress is photographed in also shows a worry

free and relaxed look reflecting some of the positive effects that marijuana has on the body.

Society believes that younger, beautiful actresses have a bigger impact on issues rather than
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older, less popular actors and actresses. The impact that popular actors/actresses have on society

is larger than expected. Actors are looked at as role models to their fans. “Celebrities are one of

the best ways to promote companies’ products, set different trends, and voice opinions”

(LaFreniere, Medium). Celebrities are praised by society and have huge impacts on many of the

decisions that people make daily. Generation Y is most impacted by these celebrity icons. These

famous actors and actresses are everything that the common everyday person wishes to be. To

celebrities, doing ad campains and talk shows are just part of their job, while everyone looks up

to them as being famous and recognized. These celebrities’ impacts on society is the prime

reason that they are used in controversial issues. The audience for these ads might change their

minds if a celebrity makes an appearance on an ad. According to The Prospective, “When a

celebrity gives their endorsement to a product, they generate brand recognition and provide a

sense of familiarity and trust, which equals sales. In fact, just one celebrity endorsement can

boost sales of a product by 4% almost immediately” (The Prospective). Audience is easily

influenced by these ads that are smartly produced with famous icons that have a bigger impact on

the young than what people first believe.

Many of the positives behind marijuana use is not public to society. There is a lot of

information on the positive impacts of marijuana on the body available on line. As the image

shows Aniston is in incredible shape and health. At over 50 years old she is stunning and

confident. The popularity of medical marijuana use is soaring more and more as scientists

discover different uses for the drug. While also on the recreational side of marijuana use, the

argument remains that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana due to it highly addictive

quality.
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New medicine is being discovered and developed every day. Scientists work hours upon

hours to bring new cures to the public. Pain was one of the first things that medical marijuana

brought to humans. One very important understanding of marijuana is that it contains a

psychoactive compound (chemical) called THC. This chemical is what gives many people the

“high” that the recreational users enjoy so much. According to the National Institution on Drug

Abuse, “THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea. THC may also decrease pain,

inflammation (swelling and redness), and muscle control problems”. The effects of THC are one

of the reasons that marijuana is used for cancer patients after their chemotherapy treatments. This

information is surprising to some. There are medical drugs that have been FDA approved that

have cannabinoids (marijuana) contained in them. Which also brings up the question of what is

the difference between recreational and medical marijuana? Medical marijuana has less THC but

still gives the same effects other than the psychoactive element. While on the other hand

recreational use is to receive that “high” that many people experience. With Aniston living in

California, where recreational use of marijuana is legal, this ad could be trying to gain money for

research and or for cannabis shops.

Marijuana will always be a controversial subject especially with the way that the older

generation was raised. These ads will help promote that marijuana is not as harmful of a drug as

most people believe and should be legalized. The impact that these ads have on society

especially if a celebrity is featured on the front is enormous. These ads are produced very

thoughtfully with each detail being precise and smart. Audience plays a large role in these ads

success while also could cause problems if produced wrongly or insulting. The image itself has a

huge impact on the different audiences and comes across as very controversial. As marijuana

becomes more and more popular the issue is going to increase opinions all over the country.
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Celebrities influence audience more than people want to believe. This influence could change

opinions or strengthen old opinions. Marijuana use both recreationally and medically will always

be something that is argued, there are always two sides to every argument.
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Works Cited

Geiger, Abigail. “62% Of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana.” Pew Research Center, Pew

Research Center, 8 Oct. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/08/americans

support-marijuana-legalization/.

Khutoretsky, Malkie. “Should Celebrities Be the Voice of Social Causes?” Theperspective.com/,

10 Oct. 2018, www.theperspective.com/debates/celebrities-voice-social-causes/.

LaFreniere, Natalie. “Celebrity Influence on Today's Society – Natalie LaFreniere –

Medium.” Medium, Medium, 30 Apr. 2018, medium.com/@nlafreniere/celebrity

influence-on-todays-society-77321834955a.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Marijuana as Medicine.” NIDA,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “What Is the Scope of Marijuana Use in the United

States?” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-scope

marijuana-use-in-united-states.

Parker-Pope, Tara. “Marijuana Use in High School.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 10 Mar. 2011, well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/marijuana-use-in-high-school/.

Railton, David. “What Are the Health Benefits and Risks of Cannabis?” Medical News Today,

MediLexicon International, 21 Feb. 2018,

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320984.php.
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