A new anti-drug campaign by the New South Wales government has been so widely ridiculed that T-shirts and other merchandise mocking the central 'Stoner Sloth' character are already up for sale online.

The anti-marijuana Stoner Sloth ads feature a series of scenarios intended to educate teenagers about the damaging affect regular marijuana use can have on motivation at school, social skills and family life through the life of a sloth who is shown to be inattentive and forgetful.

"You're worse on weed," the ad tells viewers alongside the hashtag #stonersloth.

The ads - which will not show on TV, only online - have been met with ridicule, bemusement and a torrent of social media mockery on sites such as Twitter and Reddit, with global audiences joining in.

Even NSW Premier Mike Baird has taken to twitter to acknowledge the ads' humour, albeit perhaps not in the same vein as those taking the mickey out of the commercials.

Just saw the #StonerSloth ads. Not sure where NSW Gov's ad guys found Chewbaccas siblings, but those videos are... Quite something. — Mike Baird (@mikebairdMP) December 19, 2015

I've been assured no sloths were harmed in the making of those #StonerSloth ads. — Mike Baird (@mikebairdMP) December 19, 2015

"Just saw the #StonerSloth ads. Not sure where NSW Gov's ad guys found Chewbaccas siblings, but those videos are... Quite something," Mr Baird tweeted yesterday.

"I've been assured no sloths were harmed in the making of those #StonerSloth ads."

Instead of proving a stark warning to drug users, the eponymous sloth seems to be well on its way to becoming an unintentional stoner icon.

View photos The inability to function in social situations is a key element of the campaign. Photo: Supplied More

Just days after the ads launched, T-shirts, stickies and hoodies already became available online, with designs featuring the sloth as well as catch phrases from the ad campaign.

One of the products features an image of a sloth smoking a bong.

The ads have picked up international media attention and one anti-cannabis organisation has hit out at the New South Wales government over its claim it assisted in the production of the PR disaster.





In announcing the campaign the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet said it drawn on input from the National Cannabis and Prevention Information Centre.

The NCPIC rejects that claim.

“NCPIC was not advised of or consulted about creative concept - the stoner sloth idea - and learnt of it at the same point as all other Australians when the campaign was released this week, so cannot provide insights into its development,” it said in a statement.

View photos The Stoner Sloth campaign has apparently triggered a mini-boom for the T-shirt business. Photo: Redbubble More

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