The use of marijuana has sparked a debate that evokes passionate arguments from both advocates and adversaries. At Bonita Vista High (BVH) several students voiced their ideas in a different way. From the months of March to April, the Vista Community Clinic and North Coastal Prevention Coalition held a “420 Remix” Marijuana Prevention Public Service Announcement (PSA) Counter-Ad Contest with its theme revolving around the idea that “Just Because It’s Legal, Doesn’t Mean It’s Safe.”Four students from BVH managed to land the top three positions in the video/audio and image category of the contest. Participants were given a variety of submission options to discuss their thoughts on marijuana. These entry options were either 30-60 second video/audio forms, a visual submission such as posters or drawings or a personal choice option that needed specification. For the video/audio category Vanessa Ramirez finished in first while Justice Goff and Jayden Pacheco were awarded the second and third places. For the image category Kara Barragan would end up in second place. All four students were encouraged to enter by Photography, Filipino and Computer Art Teacher Edwin Lim.

Goff believed the portrayal of peer pressure in the media to be inaccurate. She wanted to lay out her idea that peer pressure exists among curious people who have a desire to try something with little regard to their health since everybody else is doing it. Ramirez expressed that her inspiration stemmed from viewing the previous winner’s video and believing that she had the ability to create a more emotional video that embodied the repercussions that come from marijuana addiction. 

“Personally, I will never try marijuana but I also don’t feel hatred towards those who do. I know some people can handle the drug but that others cannot. To those who get hooked and let their grades falter because of it, I feel more pity for them than anything. Marijuana isn’t the worst drug out there nor is it illegal, but that doesn’t mean that it should be okay to abuse and let it take over your actions,” Ramirez said.

The first place entry by Ramirez was a video PSA consisting of a before and after concept with its central focus pertaining to a girl and her academic deterioration after becoming addicted to marijuana. Ramirez affirms that a major challenge with the video was finding the perfect music to convey the disparity in the subject matter while ensuring the footage fit accordingly with the music. Goff’s second place entry was a video animation with voiceover recorded by her boyfriend and her. In third place, Pacheco submitted a recording of himself expressing his thoughts about marijuana at thelocal New Hope Church. 

“I’m not saying marijuana is bad at all. But what I am saying is if your brain is developing I would say stop with the marijuana because it will affect your mindset when you get older. You will have future regret knowing that using marijuana at a young age [negatively] affected your intelligence sooner or later. You will realize that knowledge is everything. I used to be highly involved with marijuana, selling, smoking and most of all surrounding myself with peers who used to smoke 25/8,” Pacheco said. 

Each of the contestants were awarded with a reward depending on the position they placed. For placing first Ramirez was given $250, Goff was awarded $150 for winning second and Pacheco was given $100 for his third place win.

Pacheco explained that a prominent factor towards making his video was the necessity to include passion from his own experiences in order to help someone who needed to hear his message. As for Ramirez, she faced complications such as her inability to use the backside of her camera, her month long time lapse idea being scrapped and the difficulty in finding statistics about high schoolers and the effects marijuana can have on them

“I had looked up the statistics of high schoolers that do marijuana and what happens to them. It was actually a lot harder than you’d think it’d be to find statistics on that matter, because most of the sources were about college students,” Ramirez said.

Goff experienced a different process as her submission consisted of a video animation. Once Goff had finished the audio recording she finished some sketches and began digitalizing them the next day. The lining and coloring for each frame took around 15 minutes each and Goff estimated the total process consisted of 12 and a half hours of work split up between three days since there were 50 frames.

Upon completing each frame she synced it with the audio but on the submission day the video needed to be cut down by half of a minute in order to qualify. This required her to cut out a portion of the audio and make more frames to synchronize  with the new audio. 

 “This [project] took me a couple hours, but by submitting it I knew I was proud […] I entered the contest because I wanted to show people that saying “no” was a decision that was easy to make, since the peer pressure portrayed in movies is inaccurate,” Goff said.

With regards to the personal impact gained from winning, Ramirez explained that she did not experience any self-evaluation considering she’s never done the drug but she is close with people who do and was reminded about them through her video. The contest’s platform appeared to have given Pacheco the chance to spread his disapproval of its use due to his personal history with the drug. According to Goff, the entries are aimed at the younger generation to warn them against drugs and she believes these contests will influence the youth by showing them how easy it is to say ‘no’ and take that route over risking their health.

“I am very proud of having entered this contest and very appreciative of those who felt that my entry deserved to win. This was my first time doing an animation, and I am very content with it,” Goff said.