Why did the US gov lose the war on drugs? Did the this your brain on drugs commercial series use the wrong ad agency?
Don't forget that in the US they named their anti-drugs policy in schools: DARE!! lol!
That's some twisted reverse psychology stuff..
DARE is a program to increase public positive image of, deference to, and political support for the arbitrary action of police. (And t it's only demonstrated effect is on attitudes toward police; it doesn't have any effect on drug use.)
How that advances the cause of marginalizing minority groups is left as an exercise for the reader.
The claim is keeping kids off drugs was probably never the real goal, and even if it was the program continued to expand to new places and be funded in existing places long after it was proven ineffective as anything but pro-police propaganda, which wasn't an accident by decision-makers.
Which reveals that even if keeping kids off drugs was once part of the motivation, it wasn't what sustained the program.
Don't bother pointing out facts or using logic. Any time someone mentions drugs on HN, the usual group of addicts-in-denial show up parroting the same tired and disproven talking points that High Times magazine has been flogging for the last 40 years.
Also, it makes sense to publicly do one thing and privately do another.
DARE campaign was Reagan era, when they were importing cocaine by the plane load.
In the US, dependent on location, a person may be living under several different governments.
Governments recognize and/or create holidays, and holidays can go on to be cultural events.
Governments organize and finance festivals and events, which can and do become culture of a place or people.
They built statues, museums, parks, libraries, theatres, etc; all with several different levels and layers of culture.
You'd need to start defining parameters of what is a government, what is a culture shift, etc.
That doesn't mean they can't, won't, and don't, shift cultures in many other ways.