§ Mr DonaldsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the objectives of his Department's campaign to advertise the reclassification of cannabis were; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the campaign against its objectives. [161518]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 15 March 2004]: The Home Office cannabis radio advertising campaign aimed to raise awareness of the reclassification of cannabis and to communicate that cannabis is illegal and will remain illegal after reclassification, and that it is harmful. The primary audience is under 18s.
341WThe advertising is one strand of a wide range of communication activity that includes leaflets, postcards and education packs for schools and professionals.
The campaign is currently being evaluated using a specialist independent research agency who have conducted pre and post tracking research with a national sample of 14–17s.