This video by the Philadelphia Police Department just might be the most peculiar anti-drug PSA ever

The Philadelphia Police Commissioner appears in a new anti-drug PSA.

(Image credit: YouTube.com/PhiladelphiaPolice)

published 18 August 2015

The Philadelphia Police Department has released an anti-drug PSA so bizarre it will make you wonder what the person who put it together was smoking.

The footage is actually from the famous 1991 episode of Saved by the Bell where the gang warns its impressionable audience that "there's no hope with dope." The department decided to make it modern by slapping a photo of Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey over the late NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff, who appeared in the original message, and editing in a not-so-subtle voiceover. The final result is a bewildering 39-second clip that leaves viewers speculating if this is what an acid trip is like.

Sgt. Eric Gripp, the department's social media manager, told the New York Daily News his original plan involved putting the faces of real officers over Zack, Kelly, Lisa, Jessie, Slater, and Screech, but it was "overly difficult with everyone's schedules." Because the force is so busy preparing for Pope Francis' upcoming visit, he "just got tired of waiting and crudely pasted the commissioner's face over the original video." Ramsey has seen the video and — fortunately for Gripp — found it amusing. "The boss is very down-to-earth and has a great sense of humor," he said. Just say no, and watch the PSA below. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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