Called a "self-help video for the chemically impaired," Skip Haynes' How to Straighten Up Your Act... is a low-budget but effective inspirational title aimed at cocaine addicts in particular. a former big-time snorter himself, Haynes mixes solid information based on personal knowledge with a light breezy style to help viewers kick the coke habit. Pulling no punches, Haynes explains why coke users are "jerks" and describes the spiral-into-hell lifestyle that eventually leads to loss of job, loss of family, and loss of simple human dignity (not to mention danger to self and others: such as toked drivers who "pilot a 3,000 lb. weapon through the streets"). Asking viewers to aim for a week of abstinence, Haynes offers ideas for changing the present environment (a must), getting a new perspective on the problem ("check out the morgue, slip the doorman a few bucks" and see firsthand the end of the white line road), and responding to the inevitable negative peer pressure. Leaving no stone unturned, he points out the environmental aspects of drug abuse (in a segment called "snort a line, kill a tree") and even makes a case for doing the right thing patriotism-wise ("keep the money in the country"). There are a few semi-crude references to sex and cocaine during the program, and the tape is occasionally a little overboard on the cuteness end, but the chief benefit here is credibility. Haynes has been there, knows that life is better clean, and conveys that in a real way that standard anti-drug tapes often don't. Could get people to re-examine their lifestyles.From the makers of HIV & AIDS (reviewed in our January 1993), Substance Misuse from the Leicester Health Authority is a British production which covers mind-altering drugs in the categories of stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and opiates. Each category is given a general introduction, followed by specific segments on particular drugs. Under stimulants, for example, the video looks at the effects, both positive and negative, of amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine, and cocaine. The production values are quite good throughout, though the narration is dry and straightforward. There's an honesty in Substance Misuse which is not often found in similar programs--you won't find many anti-drug videos calling marijuana a "relatively safe" drug whose main risk is lung disease, for example. But, my biggest concern was the graphic representation of drug use throughout. Those who don't know how to sniff solvents or smoke a bong will certainly know how to after watching this tape. Ultimately, this inadvertent how-to aspect of Substance Abuse tips the scales toward the negative.How to Straighten Up Your Act... is recommended. Substance Misuse is not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)
How To Straighten Up Your Act In One Week And Keep the Money In the Country Or How To Stop Doing Cocaine For Under $20,000; Substance Misuse
(1993) 30 min. $29.95. Increase Video. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 2
How To Straighten Up Your Act In One Week And Keep the Money In the Country Or How To Stop Doing Cocaine For Under $20,000; Substance Misuse
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