NSW government anti-marijuana campaign #stonersloth has crashed and burned - because it just so happens to be the name of a well-known online weed dealer.

The Tumblr video and gif campaign uses the line and hashtag "You're worse on weed" with an actor dressed in a sloth suit in an attempt to show how marijuana ruins lives.

Jointly released with St Vincent's Alcohol and Drug Information Service, the campaign is "designed to raise awareness among teens of the risks and consequences of using recreational cannabis".

In one video clip, Delilah - an actor dressed in an animal sloth costume - struggles to submit a class essay while her peers brand her a 'stoner sloth'. The accompanying tagline drives home the message: "When you realise you should have hit the books and not the bong".

In another clip, a sloth named Jason, fails to pass the salt at the family dinner table and is dismissed with eye rolls and also called a 'stoner sloth'. The tagline reads: "Stoned at dinner and the struggle is too real".

However, the campaign seems to have missed its mark, attracting more criticism than it is reforming pot smokers.

The number of tweets mocking the campaign has helped to push the hashtag #stonersloth to the number one spot of phrases trending on Twitter Australia on Saturday.

If anyone is already looking for a Halloween costume for next year, that could be it. #StonerSloth — Ryan Curry-Flynn (@ryancurryflynn) December 19, 2015

#StonerSloth is a brain fart using internet buzzwords to be 'in with the kids' Super patronising to a very well information resourced youth. — Elisha May (@HiElishaMay) December 19, 2015

I think the people who made #stonersloth vastly underestimate the public's hero-worship of sloths. — Madeleine Baud (@HeyBaudelaire) December 19, 2015

I demand that #stonersloth gets his/her own TV show — Luke Vespa (@lukevespa) December 19, 2015

Wait... is #stonersloth legit or a joke? — Alicia Ames (@aliciiames) December 19, 2015

Now we know how the megasloth died out. Smoking pot: not even once #stonersloth pic.twitter.com/GLpcXBZivZ — rafiiiii (@rafialarm) December 19, 2015

What a stupid advert to release at a time when we will be legalizing the drug for medicine, completely inaccurate. #stonersloth — Leah (@Leah_reTard) December 19, 2015

The social media campaign - which is also on Facebook - uses tags like #fail #awkward #embarrasing (yes, it was spelled incorrectly) and #examfail.

In NSW, possessing or using cannabis attracts a fine up to $2,200 and can also include a two-year jail term or community service.