Golden ticket holder to win drugs

A film company has offered a bag of potent cannabis as a prize to the person who finds a Willy Wonka-style golden ticket. Revolver Entertainment is hoping the marketing technique will increase sales of The Wackness, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, which is released on DVD on Monday.

Hidden inside one of the DVD boxes is a ticket which entitles the "lucky winner" to a trip to Amsterdam, where they will collect their skunk.

Under the heading The Golden Ticket, the company said on its website: "Yes, you heard us correctly. We're offering the chance for you to win a fabulous weekend break for two to the city of smoke itself, the beautiful Amsterdam. But that's not all… the lucky winner will also be able to pick up a complimentary bag of skunk from legendary Amsterdam café Hill Street Blues."



But the PR stunt which accompanies the DVD release has been branded unacceptable by anti-drugs campaigners.

"We all want to see fewer people using cannabis, but the best way to achieve that is through health information," a spokesman for mental health charity Rethink said. "It is unacceptable for cannabis use to be glamorised in any way."

Revolver defended the competition as something "that will brighten up people's lives" during the gloom of the global economic crisis.