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Worst TV Show of the Week

90210 on CW

Has teen drug use increased? Judging by television in the last few months, it certainly has. Recently, the PTC reported, “It took 53 episodes of broadcast programming to find the equivalent amount of drug content that aired in only 8 episodes of Skins.” But MTV’s lurid kiddie drama (whose first season concluded a few weeks ago) is certainly not the only series that glorifies teen drug use. The April 4^th re-broadcast of a 90210 episode that originally aired on February 21^st of this year also depicted drug use in a favorable light, thus earning it the title of Worst TV Show of The Week.

In the episode, Ivy self-medicates by smoking marijuana after a near-fatal surfing accident causes her post-traumatic stress. Her mom attempts to intervene, but the message is lost on Ivy, especially since her mom regularly smokes marijuana herself and, in fact, basically furnishes Ivy with an ever-ready supply. She suggests that Ivy visit a therapist rather than numb her senses in a pot-induced stupor. So Ivy does see a professional who (wait for it…) writes her a prescription for medical marijuana. He even recommends a dispensary around the corner, where Ivy peruses a smorgasbord of pot-laced items from barbeque sauce to cookies to lollipops. (It’s as if Cheech & Chong ran a convenience store.) There, Ivy meets a fellow connoisseur of cannabis, Raj, who entices her into a mini-adventure that culminates at the airport where they watch jets take off close enough to the runway to feel the thrust of the plane’s afterburn.

All-in-all, according the episode, Ivy had a pretty awesome day thanks to weed. She scores a prescription for marijuana from a nefarious doctor who evidently finds nothing wrong with doping children; she discovers a whole new kind of “baked” goods; and she follows a complete stranger around the city who luckily isn’t a serial killer; and she ends the day in thrilling fashion. See, kids, drugs can be fun!

This is a far cry from the “Just Say No” message of the '80s. It seems like nowadays television shows want to avoid any appearance of hackneyed consequences, opting instead for supposedly more “realistic” portrayals of drug use. Yet, while fashion trends might be recycled, slogans like “Just Say No” seem stuck in amber, forever relegated to a single era.

Perhaps it’s time to resurrect Nancy Reagan’s pitch, however old fashioned it may sound.

A study published on Wednesday from the Partnership at Drugfree.org confirmed adolescent marijuana and Ecstasy abuse had increased significantly in the past two years. In fact, as the study notes, “All measures of marijuana use (ever tried, past year, past month) continue last year’s significant increases versus 2008” – after a decade of decline. The statistics are truly alarming: “One quarter (25 percent) report smoking marijuana in the past month, which translates into over four million 9th – 12th graders smoking marijuana in the past month. In just two years, nearly all the progress made between 1998 and 2008 in reducing teen use of marijuana has been lost.”

The increase is more disconcerting in light of a study conducted by the University of Cincinnati in 2008, which suggests, “chronic, heavy marijuana use during adolescence – a critical period of ongoing brain development – is associated with poorer performance on thinking tasks, including slower psychomotor speed and poorer complex attention, verbal memory and planning ability.”

A new generation is coming of age whose minds may potentially be forever dulled by marijuana abuse.

And what does television targeted directly at teens have to say about this issue? “Just Say Yes,” seems to be the prevailing message.

For glorifying teen drug use, 90210 has been named Worst TV Show of the Week.