The Failed War on Drugs: Genre Analysis of Poster and

Website
Trent Ware
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University of Texas at El Paso
For thousands of years, human beings have used drugs or mind altering substances in
religious and shamanistic rituals. This cultural use of drugs would be passed down through
generations without event until June of 1971 in the United States of America. President Richard
Nixon began a crusade against drugs that continues into our lives today. Our doors are knocked
down without warning, we are sentenced to extremely harsh incarceration, and were taken
away from our families by the law for simple possession of a banned substance. The number of
people behind bars for drug offenses increases from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997. In
the 80s a political hysteria gripped the United States, one that made drug abuse go from the
publics blind spot to 64% of the American citizens polled number one problem in the country by
1989. A year later, after fear-mongering stops in the media, drug abuse falls back into obscurity.
Drugs are an important part of our cultural heritage and future, and taking peoples lives away
for simple possession is criminal in and of itself.
Drug law violations in 2014 accounted for over 1.5 million arrests, 83 % of which are only
possession of prohibited substance. Every 1 in 111 adults are incarcerated in the United States,
the highest incarceration rate in the world. Every year, the DEA and subsidiaries get more
money from the government to even more militarily control drugs throughout the world,
seemingly without end. In order to stop this government cartel activity, we must educate and
advocate against the War on Drugs created by Richard Nixon. No child should have a mother or
father spend their entire childhood behind bars for nonviolent crime. There are many vectors
through which a message can be sent, and we will be analyzing the effectiveness of two
different genres of communication---a sign and a website---that advocate against the War on
Drugs. We will analyze the success of the genre through a few categories: Audience and
Purpose, Rhetorical Issues, Structure, Style and Language.

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http://www.drugpolicy.org/
AND

(Found on Drugpolicy.org)

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Audience and Purpose

The intended audience for this website are those who have an interest in learning about
the culture of drugs, the history of drug culture, or anyone who has been or who has had a
family member affected by strict drug laws. These people have a vested interest in learning
more about how they can help in their own community to advocate for more rehabilitative
treatment methods rather than incarceration. This audience will take the time to sit down and
read the entirety of a website, hoping to garner as much knowledge from one place as they
possibly can to have a basis for their awareness to grow. The purpose of the website is to
inform primarily of current drug law activism, history of drug law, and education on the way
things are. By providing all the information in one place with accurate citations, the Drug Policy
Alliance has made it almost tantalizing to learn of the misnomers in policy as well as what can
be done and what has already been done.
The poster of No Victim No Crime is extremely good for a quick exposure to a large
audience. The poster can be placed anywhere, making it accessible to everyone who is able to
read and within proximity of the poster. These people may never have been exposed to activism
on the Drug War, and could have their minds challenged by the poster. The purpose of the
poster is to incite a spark inside of a persons mind that could possibly set a flame for further
education. It ideally would cause the person to do more research on their own, possibly creating
another person involved in the process of activism.
The poster and the website work hand in hand to achieve the goal of adding a member
into a group to change policy on drugs. The poster is quick, cheap, and attracts attention to the
cause by being mobile and easily accessible to anyone able to read, while the website goes
much further into depth and allows the reader to educate themselves fully. The website requires

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average
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processed.

Rhetorical Issues
The website establishes credibility with the audience by virtue of being owned by a nonprofit organization. They are also completely open, in that all of their financial information,
personnel information, and any other information desired of the organization is at your fingertips
in seconds on their website. This lends to a sense of security and trustworthiness that isnt
found with most websites for companies or the government. Drugpolicy.org is primarily textual,
and requires a lot more time to fully digest, but evokes emotions of hope. The complete lack of
negativity and statements of fact and positive values make for a very pleasant environment that
brings a sense of positive urgency. The fact that one is staring at a computer screen does
somewhat take away the sense of connection with the website and its ideals. Cold hard facts
are used in the website genre in order to support claims. Government websites statistics are
used and an entire section of the website is titled Facts. Medical Journals, the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, and the Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project are all
a part of the research done within the website and are linked to as well with the information. The
information is reliable in that it was scientifically gathered and has been peer reviewed and
published.
The poster is not supported by any hard evidence but by a lack of fallacy. The poster has a
much weaker hold on credibility, with one mention of the organization that owns it Students for
Liberty. The poster takes the risk of the consumer not knowing the organization or the group
that stands behind it, but is intended to be so quickly observed and processed that ideally the
credibility is not questioned.

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| 5 poster genre is also tactile and present in the viewers life. The image laid into the
background of two hands breaking shackles evokes emotions of happiness and relief from
pressure. The sun-rays background could make someone think of the sun rising on this cause
and gives them a feeling of happiness. The clear message of No Victim? No Crime. Leaves no
room for interpretation, letting clarity settle in. The sign is not supported by any hard evidence
but by a lack of fallacy. In its creation there was no logic other than this: If no one is hurt, no one
should be charged with a crime. This could pose a problem, but the purpose of the poster is not
to inform but to incite and to expose.

Structure
The information is organized into five main categories for easy access. Issues, Action,
Facts, Blog, and About Us are the titles of the five main pages. This simplifies the readers
mobility around the site because they are easily able to navigate and find what they want to
learn about quickly without wasting time looking through useless information. There are almost
no limitations placed on this information other than that it cannot be viewed in analog due to the
digital nature of a site. The website can communicate almost any information desired and has
the freedom to express even more with only small amounts of server space increase. The limits
that are placed on it are on the censorship level rather than the genre level. The simple and
concise structure facilitates the purpose of the website by more easily allowing navigation and
effective inflow of information to the reader. Fast website use as well as thorough research show
a clear presentation of effort and intelligence in creation.
The information is organized quickly and concisely in four primary words with a short
statement below the main message. With only 11 words total on the poster it would be very
easy to read the whole poster in passing. The marijuana symbols attract attention due to the
fact that they are frowned upon by the establishment. The primary limiter on the information is

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| 6 presented. The poster has an extremely small amount of space in which you must
present a compelling argument or statement. It has less freedom to express what it needs to,
but more access to more people. The structure of this piece facilitates the purpose by drawing
attention to the message of No Victim? No Crime. The large text makes it easy to read, and
then the more subtle hints come out after your attention is grabbed. It is very easy to read and
look at overall.

Language and Style

The language on Drugpolicy.org is relatively informal in that it addresses the viewer
directly. Tell your Senators and Drug Policy in my state suggest a more personal approach
to providing information. There is not a lot of specialized vocabulary on this website as a result
of the intention of being incredibly easy to read. The website does not want to turn readers off
by throwing them for a language loop by including drug references that arent necessarily
common knowledge. When it comes to style red, grey, and yellow are the colors used. The
text is primarily red, invoking passion, and yellow is a good color for attracting attention. The
visuals are almost solely of protesting and fighting against oppression.
For the No Victim? No Crime! sign, formal language can be found. This language is
very brief to keep the length of time between intake and understanding at a minimum. The word
victim is specialized in the law enforcement area of our society. It is a highly charged word due
to the fact that it is used to describe the person on the bad end of ANY crime, meaning it is
associated with murder and other less savory crimes than that of drug possession. There is a
marijuana leaf in between the words of this poster, while the depiction of two hands breaking a
pair of shackles gives the symbolism of breaking free from oppression. Maroon could suggest
what college campus this was created on or for the passionate color.

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the different purposes of these two mediums explain most of the
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differences in the affect that they have on people as well as their intended purpose. This paper
analyzes the difference between two genres (Website and Poster) in the areas of Audience and
Purpose, Rhetorical Issues, Structure, and Style and Language. It is hard to say which would
prove a more effective tool for advocating the end of the Drug War, but both serve their purpose
extremely well.

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References

Drug Policy Alliance | Guiding Drug Law Reform & Advocacy. (n.d.). Retrieved February
10, 2016, from http://www.drugpolicy.org/